Woman detained after first Berkeley shooting of the year

A Berkeley woman in her 30s was detained early Wednesday morning after the first confirmed gunfire report of the year.

Berkeley police were called to investigate the shooting report shortly before 2 a.m. in the 600 block of Addison Street in West Berkeley.

A caller advised officers that the woman had fired the gun into the floor during an argument with her boyfriend but that no one had been hurt.

The shooter was described as a white woman with facial piercings and neck tattoos who had fired the gun in an apartment at Avalon Berkeley, a large complex at 651 Addison St.

After officers detained the woman, at about 2:10 a.m., they seized two firearms from the scene, authorities said Wednesday.

No further details about the woman were available as of publication time due to a pending medical assessment.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Read more about shootings in Berkeley.

It was the first shooting in Berkeley of the year.

Last year, there were 30 shootings in Berkeley, leaving three people dead and seven wounded.

But, aside from gun violence, most serious crime reports fell in Berkeley in 2024, according to preliminary data.

Just published: The Scanner’s 2025 Berkeley gunfire map

Bookmark The Scanner’s 2025 gunfire map for more reporting on Berkeley gun violence as the year proceeds.

Meanwhile, on New Year’s Eve, Oakland reported a fatal stabbing and a mass shooting — with four victims, including one who perished — as well as its first homicide of 2025: a shooting that left one person dead on 24th Avenue in East Oakland just before 3:15 a.m. Wednesday.