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The Berkeley Police Department is investigating the first murder case of the year, after one of the victims in a south Berkeley shooting early Tuesday morning succumbed to his wounds later that afternoon. 

Rammar Johnson, 28, died at Highland Hospital at around 6 p.m. The other victim in the shooting, Noel Turner, Jr., 29, remained in critical condition on Wednesday. 

Both men were residents of Oakland. 

The two men were shot in the head near the corner of 63rd and King streets at around 2:40 a.m. When police arrived, they found the victims inside a car parked near the intersection. 

Two people were seen fleeing the scene, according to the BPD’s Lt. Cynthia Harris. 

Historically the neighborhood where the crime took place – which is bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Way/Adeline Street, Ashby Avenue, San Pablo Avenue and the Oakland border – has had the worst homicide rate in the city. 

Twenty-three people were murdered in the area in the 11 years between 1990 and 2000.  

The crime is the second murder in Berkeley in a month. On Dec. 30, police arrested Lazarus Ortega for the murder of his adoptive mother, Charlotte Ortega.  

Ortega is scheduled to enter his plea in the Berkeley Courthouse on Jan. 30. 

The BPD has not released any speculation on the motives for Tuesday’s shootings, and has not yet arrested any suspects.  

Anyone who may be able to provide additional information is asked to call the Homicide Detail at 981-5741.