Naked man with shotgun arrested at Berkeley Tesla
Berkeley police identified the suspect as 35-year-old Edward Teece. He has been charged with several gun-related felonies.
A naked man with a shotgun who ran into the Berkeley Tesla repair shop was tackled by an officer after charging at him Monday, authorities report.
Berkeley police got several calls Monday at about 7:20 a.m. about a naked man who was "running down the street smashing windows" near Eighth and Gilman streets.
While they were responding, callers said the man had a shotgun and had gone inside the Tesla Service Center, at 901 Gilman St., and was pointing the weapon at people inside.
Thinking there was an active shooter, a number of people ran outside in fear.
As officers began to set up a perimeter, the man burst out the front door screaming, holding the shotgun in his hand, authorities said.
Police ordered him to stop but he kept running in their direction, BPD said.
According to police, the officer who was in the man's sights "took cover" behind a pillar and then managed to tackle him when he got close.
Several officers then worked together to restrain and handcuff him, police said.
No one inside the Tesla repair shop was hurt, but employees were shaken up, said BPD spokesman Officer Byron White.
"It all worked out, but it could have gone differently," he said.
Police seized the man's shotgun as evidence and obtained a gun violence restraining order to keep him from having weapons, BPD said.
They also got a search warrant for his warehouse, in the 1300 block of Eighth Street about a block away, where they "discovered evidence that the suspect had discharged the shotgun" several times, police said.
Edward Teece. BPD
BPD identified the man as 35-year-old Edward Teece of Berkeley.
He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm in public, and willfully discharging a firearm in a negligent manner, police said.
According to online bios, Teece is from Berkeley but attended private high school Phillips Andover, in Massachusetts, before rowing crew at Yale.
Police said they were thankful no one was hurt and "grateful for all the people who called to report the suspect’s location so that officers could quickly take the man into custody."
As of Tuesday, Teece is being held on $175,000 bail at Santa Rita Jail.
The Alameda County district attorney's office has charged him with discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, resisting arrest and two counts of assault with a firearm, according to court records.
Teece is set for arraignment Wednesday.
