Berkeley police arrest 3 men suspected of pointing gun at toddler during robbery

Berkeley police arrested three men — one who allegedly held a gun to the head of a 2-year-old — on May 1 for allegedly robbing a person after striking them in the head with a gun.

Officers were dispatched at 1:47 p.m. to the area of Bancroft Way and Shattuck Avenue on a report of an armed robbery. The suspects had fled in a vehicle by the time police arrived.

Police said the victim, who was holding a 2-year-old child, was approached by two suspects. One suspect pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded property. The suspect then pointed the gun at the 2-year-old child's head and demanded property again before hitting the victim in the head with the handgun.

Both suspects stole the victim's property and fled in a vehicle driven by a third suspect.

An officer located a vehicle matching the suspects' vehicle description and attempted to pull it over. The driver failed to yield and fled the area at a high rate of speed.

Officers pursued the vehicle into Oakland, where the suspects' vehicle crashed. All three suspects exited the car and fled the area on foot.

One officer chased one of the suspects for three blocks before taking him into custody. Another suspect fled on foot and was taken into custody by other officers after trying to run across Interstate 580.

Oakland police assisted with a K-9 and a drone to help search for the third suspect. After about two hours from the time of the original call, the third suspect was detained.

Police recovered a firearm and the stolen property.