Police found the pair outside a Panoramic Way residence near UC Berkeley and said no threat to the surrounding community remained.
OAKLAND, CA— A 61-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman were found fatally shot Friday morning outside their Oakland Hills home near the Berkeley border, prompting a homicide investigation in a residential neighborhood above the University of California, Berkeley campus.
Berkeley police received a report of gunfire shortly before 11 a.m. Oct. 2 in the 400 block of Panoramic Way, near the Oakland-Berkeley boundary. Officers responding to the call found the two people suffering from gunshot wounds outside a residence. Police and emergency personnel attempted lifesaving measures, but both were pronounced dead at the scene. Oakland police took the lead in the investigation because the residence is within Oakland.
Oakland Assistant Police Chief Casey Johnson said investigators found a firearm at the scene. Police said the man and woman lived at the home and appeared to be married. Authorities had not officially released their identities as of Friday evening. Investigators also had not determined what led to the shooting or publicly established the sequence of events that resulted in the two deaths.
Johnson said police were not searching for anyone believed to pose an ongoing threat to the neighborhood. Asked whether investigators were considering the possibility of a murder-suicide, he said detectives had not ruled out any scenario but had not reached a conclusion. The Oakland Police Department’s homicide unit was investigating the deaths.
The shooting brought a large police response to Panoramic Way, a winding residential street in the hills immediately southeast of the UC Berkeley campus. Officers secured the area while investigators examined the property and surrounding scene. Residents told local news organizations that hearing gunfire and seeing the police response was unusual for the neighborhood.
The incident also prompted concern on the nearby university campus because of the home’s proximity to UC Berkeley. University officials said the campus itself was not affected. UC Berkeley police reported Friday afternoon that there were no known or ongoing threats to the campus as authorities continued working at the shooting scene.
Accounts from authorities consistently placed the woman at age 63 and the man at age 61, although one early local report gave a different age for the man. Oakland police officials identified him as 61 during their public statements. Authorities said both victims were residents of the Panoramic Way home.
Some public records and neighbors cited by local media identified the homeowners, but police had not formally released the victims’ names. Their official identities therefore remained pending confirmation by authorities. Police also had not announced any arrests or publicly identified another person as a suspect in connection with the deaths.
The investigation remained active Friday evening. Police had recovered a firearm but had not publicly said who fired it, how many shots were fired or what circumstances preceded the shooting. Authorities said there was no continuing danger to the neighborhood or UC Berkeley campus while detectives worked to determine what happened.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 3, 2026.