Campus Alert Archive
UC Berkeley

Rocks at Durant and Ellsworth: WarnMe Calls It Anti-Asian Hate, Six and a Half Hours After the Attack

CAaggravated assaulttimely warningmedium confidence
Under Investigation

An unknown suspect attempted to assault a victim using rocks at the intersection of Durant Avenue and Ellsworth Street near UC Berkeley at 8:45 AM PDT on September 19, 2022. Based on initial information, UCPD believed the attack was anti-Asian hate-motivated and issued a WarnMe alert. The incident was not reported to police until 3:25 PM PDT that day -- nearly seven hours after it occurred -- delaying the timely warning.

Alerts
1
Response
min
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
University of California, Berkeley
Public R1 · CA
~45,000 studentsWarnMe
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimBerkeley Scanner and Daily Californian reporting that quote UCPD's WarnMe alert verbatim202 chars
An unknown individual attempted to assault a victim using several rocks. Based on information provided in the initial report of this crime, this crime was believed to have been an anti-Asian hate crime.
These are the two key sentences UCPD wrote in the WarnMe alert as quoted by Berkeley Scanner; surrounding boilerplate (timestamp/contact info) is omitted because the news sources did not preserve it verbatim
WarnMe categorized the incident as a possible anti-Asian hate crime explicitly -- a more direct framing than many peer institutions used during the pandemic-era surge
The 6-hour-40-minute reporting delay (8:45 AM PDT incident, 3:25 PM PDT report via anonymous tip) significantly limited UCPD's ability to identify the suspect
Durant Avenue at Ellsworth is in the heart of UC Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue commercial district, frequented by students daily
Context

Background

The September 19, 2022 attack at Durant and Ellsworth Streets was one of the few off-campus assaults near UC Berkeley that the university's WarnMe system explicitly categorized as a possible anti-Asian hate crime. According to reporting in the Daily Californian, an unknown suspect attempted to assault a victim using rocks at 8:45 AM. UCPD did not learn of the incident until 3:25 PM, when an anonymous tip prompted the investigation -- a delay that the Berkeley Scanner noted substantially complicated the investigation. UCPD released no suspect description. The incident occurred amid a sustained pandemic-era concern about anti-Asian violence in the East Bay -- a Berkeleyside survey in 2021 found that about half of Asian and Asian American Berkeley residents reported experiencing racial harassment, with 10 percent reporting physical attack during the pandemic. UC Berkeley's Office of the Chancellor and Asian American studies faculty had repeatedly addressed the trend in the preceding 18 months. KTVU reported that parents and students were increasingly concerned about safety in the South Side neighborhood that includes Durant Avenue.
Analysis

Key Findings

WarnMe explicitly named 'possible anti-Asian hate crime' in the alert title -- a more direct framing than many other universities used during the pandemic-era surge
The nearly 7-hour reporting delay between incident and report illustrates a common Clery-system limitation: timely warnings can only be as timely as victims' decisions to report
The lack of suspect description undermined the alert's practical safety value -- highlighting tension between transparency timelines and investigative completeness
The intersection (Durant and Ellsworth) is in Berkeley's South Side near Telegraph Avenue -- a high-foot-traffic student commercial district
Outcome
No arrests reported. UCPD provided few public details about the suspect or victim. Incident reported in UCPD daily crime log as aggravated assault with hate-crime designation. Came amid sustained concern about [anti-Asian incidents in the East Bay](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/05/12/anti-asian-harassment-widespread-berkeley-survey) following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Anti-Asian hate crime reported near Durant and Ellsworth -- Daily Californian
    dailycal.org
  2. News
    'Anti-Asian hate crime' reported near UC Berkeley -- Berkeley Scanner
    berkeleyscanner.com
  3. News
    UC Berkeley Police Investigating Possible Anti-Asian Hate Crime -- NBC Bay Area
    nbcbayarea.com
  4. News
    Police: Assault near UC Berkeley campus may be anti-Asian hate crime -- CBS San Francisco
    cbsnews.com
  5. News
    Anti-Asian harassment widespread in Berkeley, survey suggests -- Berkeleyside
    berkeleyside.org
Tags
anti-asian-hate-crimehate-crimeaggravated-assaulttimely-warningcovid-eracaliforniawarnmetelegraph-avenuesouth-sidedelayed-reportingUnder Investigation
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion