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Several gun shots were fired at the driver of a car parked on the 1500 block of Alcatraz Avenue early Sunday morning, according to the Berkeley Police Department. 

The victim was taken to Highland Hospital after the 1:30 a.m. shooting where he was treated for multiple gunshot wounds to the shoulder and has since been released. 

According to BPD public information officer Lt. Cynthia Harris, the suspect in the shooting has been identified but remains at large. Police are withholding the name until Tuesday. Three other individuals were in the car during the shooting and were not injured. 

BPD squad cars appeared on scene in the south Berkeley neighborhood approximately 30 seconds after a report of loud noises in the area. According to Harris, the car involved in the incident sped from Alcatraz Avenue to Fairview Street, two blocks north, before being stopped by police. 

More than a dozen BPD squad cars followed within minutes of the shooting along with both an ambulance and truck from Berkeley Fire Department. 

A BPD squad car was also seen speeding east on Fairview Street moments after the shooting. 

According to Lt. Harris, no indication of a motive has been released. Harris did not comment as to whether or not the victim in the shooting knew the suspect. 

The shooting follows a series of community meetings between the BPD and residents concerned about increased violence and drug activity specifically in south and west Berkeley. The BPD released details last Thursday of the arrest of 20 individuals suspected of illegal drug trafficking. 

Sunday’s shooting is the most recent in a pattern of violence in the south Berkeley area. On January 22, Oakland residents Rammar Johnson and Noel Turner, Jr., were shot in the head while sitting in their car on 64th Street. The two later died as a result of their injuries. The perpetrator in that shooting is still at large. 

Berkeley resident Dwight Leeray and 25-year old Raymond Smith also died as the result of violent crimes in south Berkeley, in unrelated incidents, in March. Two suspects are behind bars for the death of Leeray.  

According to the BPD, patrols in south Berkeley have increased as a result of the recent homicides and other violence. Officers emphasize that residents must work with the police to reduce crime.  

Officers urge community members to call the BPD with any information at 981-5900 and also provide an anonymous tip line 843-2677 (THE-COPS).