Update: Female Bicyclist Found Fatally Shot Identified

UPDATE 7:30 a.m., Thursday, Three of Berkeley's four homicides this year happened in south Berkeley. One murder took place just blocks from where 50-year-old Pam Mullins was shot Tuesday night on Sacramento Street.

The neighborhood where a Berkeley bicyclist was found shot dead Tuesday night has been plagued with violent crime for decades, said longtime south Berkeley resident Laura Menard.

“I have seen dead bodies…lots of them,” Menard said.

Menard has lived nearby the shooting site for 27 years and in south Berkeley for 35 years. She helped run a local neighborhood violent crime prevention group, which was active from 1999 to 2009.  Among its duties, the group fought for the abatement of drug houses.

Menard said many of her neighbors heard the gunshot and sirens the night of Tuesday’s crime, but no one she knows saw anything.

“There’s definitely been a history of drug trade directly across the street and nearby,” she said. Many of the violent crimes she has seen in the area have been drug-related, she said.

At about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Berkeley Police Department responded to reports of a bicyclist down in the 1500 block of Derby Street, according to a police news release. The bicyclist was an unidentified woman in her 40s or 50s. She was pronounced dead at the scene with a gunshot wound.

Berkeley police detectives are handling the homicide investigation. Since the beginning of 2012, Berkeley has had four murders.

UPDATE 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, The Oakland Tribune reported that the woman who police found fatally shot near Derby Street late Tuesday night was 50-year-old Pam Mullins, a caregiver who lived nearby. *Berkeley police are now reporting that the woman was found dead in the 2700 Block of Sacramento Street

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The Berkeley Police Department is reporting that the bicyclist found fatally shot Tuesday night was a woman in her late 40s or 50s.

At about 11:36 p.m. Tuesday, the police responded to an initial report of an injury collision in the 1500 block of Derby Street. The report indicated it appeared to be a bicyclist versus roadway collision.

When officers arrived on the scene, Berkeley Fire Department was requested for medical assistance. Paramedics arrived and attended to the victim, who appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound.  The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.  

Berkeley Homicide Detectives are handling the investigation. Berkeley police are not releasing an more details about the victim.

BPD is urging anyone with information regarding this incident to call its Homicide Unit at 510-981-5741 or our non-emergency number at 510-981-5900. Callers may remain anonymous. Anyone with anonymous information may also call Bay Area Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

Correction: Patch first received reports and published that the victim was a man.