A 78-year-old woman who was out walking her dog last Friday in Berkeley managed to knock a gun — what turned out to be a BB gun — out of the hand of a 16-year-old who was allegedly trying to rob her.
The incident happened on Hopkins Street near Carlotta Avenue just after 9 p.m. on Friday. As the Berkeley Scanner reports, via Berkeley police, the woman said she was walking her dog when two youths approached her from behind, a 16-year-old and a 13-year-old.
The older boy, who was wearing a face mask, demanded her money and property and pointed the replica gun at her. The woman refused, and when the suspect demanded again that she hand over her belongings she said no again. A scuffle ensued in which the boy allegedly "grabbed at the woman's pocket," and she says she then knocked the BB gun out of his hands using a stick she was carrying.
The two boys ran off but were soon located by police, and the victim positively identified them, as the East Bay Times reports.
The 16-year-old was arrested and taken to juvenile hall, but the 13-year-old was released as it was determined he was not involved in the crime.
Police said they also recovered the BB gun as evidence.
Per Berkeley Scanner, there have been 80 robberies so far this year in Berkeley, about 20% of which involved a gun.
