As the picture comes into focus after last week's shooting, Berkeley residents are mourning a neighborhood tragedy. 

The first homicide of 2012 was a brutal one. But it also occurred in an area of Berkeley that has seen homicides before. Now, some residents are questioning whether South Berkeley is on a slippery slope. 

Kenneth Warren, 32, lived in Hercules and was the father of five children, as well as the brother to six siblings. He was well known in the South Berkeley community, and worked at his uncle's barbershop, Don's Headquarters on Shattuck Avenue. Donald Warren — a man "iconic in the African-American community," the Berkeley Daily Planet says — has run the shop for 41 years. 

After a shift at the barbershop on Jan. 26, Don's nephew was headed to see friends in the apartment building at 2114 Emerson Street and catch the end of the Celtics-Magic game, Berkeleyside reports.

"He slapped my knee and said 'I'll see you tomorrow, Uncle and not 15 seconds later I hear a barrage of gunfire," Don Warren told reporters as he broke into tears. "He was a caring father, a mentor to kids. He was a good person."

Police identified at least 80 shell casings at the crime scene, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, and believe that the homicide was a targeted shooting, not a random act. 

Whoever was responsible, "it was definitely an ambush. It was premeditated," Don Warren said. "It was a cold-blooded, careless act which won't solve anything. Killing has never solved anything in this world."

Members of the community held a vigil on Friday evening, bringing candles and balloons and paying their respects to the man often referred to a "Jr." or "Kenny," according to the Daily Cal.

The senselessness of the crime is something Becky O'Malley grapples with in her piece about the homicide for the Berkeley Daily Planet. "This kind of thing simply should not happen to a family like this," writes Malley. 

But statistics recently released from the Violence Policy Center show that "this kind of thing" does happen — frequently. African-American families are torn apart by shootings, with black males far more likely to die by homicide than any other demographic. Handguns "are far andaway the number one murder tool," the report states. California ranks among the top ten states for its African-American homicide rate. Homicide is also the number one cause of death for African-American youths in California between the ages of 10 and 24.

Kenneth Warren's death was the first homicide of 2012. In 2011, Berkeley saw just one homicide — the lowest number in a decade.

How has the murder of Kenneth Warren affected the South Berkeley community? Share your thoughts in the comments.