A verbal exchange escalated into gunfire on Saturday evening about 9:27 p.m. near the Bay Street Shopping Center leaving two victims. “I heard a bunch of shots. There were so many I first thought they may have been fireworks” noted Peter White who lives nearby and happened to be on his balcony. “Then I heard some more after a pause.“ White noted the shots were followed by sirens shortly after.

#BREAKING: Reports of shots fired near Shellmound/Christie. Suspect ran into this @BevMo #Emeryville @HarryHarris15 pic.twitter.com/kjpd4jcpOD

— The E’ville Eye News (@TheEvilleEye) January 15, 2017

Two men were reportedly leaving the mall on foot after attending a movie at AMC and heading Westbound at Shellmound and Christie when the exchange occurred with a passing vehicle. The vehicle then opened fire on the two men. One victim was reportedly shot in the leg and fell to the ground. The other victim was shot in the back but was able to run to the nearby Bevmo where he sought help.

Bobby Lee was on the scene to interview acting Emeryville PD Sergeant Rojas:

The victim that was shot in the leg was in stable condition and the victim that was shot in the back was said to be in serious condition. Both victims were taken to Highland Hospital and are expected to survive. Witnesses that were present were cooperative with the police. A possible suspect vehicle was described as a white or silver four door sedan.

Emeryville Police Chief Tejada was alerted from home and called to the scene. She noted that nearby surveillance footage from Hyatt House and the Sheraton Hotel parking lot were both being reviewed for evidence but encouraged anyone with information to call the EPD at (510) 596-3700. “No matter how insignificant it appears to you, it may be significant to us”. Tejada also noted she’s working on building a volunteer network of private business and residential security cams as a crime-fighting tool. “We solve a lot of crimes from video footage.”

The intersection was blocked as of 11:30 pm as officers surveyed the area for evidence including shell casings. The incident is the second involving gunfire near that intersection in a month after the December 28th vehicle gun battle in the Hyatt Place parking garage.

Since this is breaking news, we will update this post as new information becomes available.

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