A 39-year-old Berkeley man walked into Alta Bates Hospital shortly before 3 p.m. last Saturday with a stab wound to his midsection, the start of a chain of events that would end with a Berkeley man under arrest and held without bail. Hours later, at the same apartment complex where the first attack happened, a second man was found stabbed in the chest. Police have identified the suspect in both attacks as Joseph Reindl, a 33-year-old Berkeley resident.
The first stabbing happened in the 6500 block of Shattuck Avenue, just over the Oakland border, according to Berkeley Scanner. That first victim was taken to a local trauma center and was in stable condition, the outlet reported. Berkeley police officers had responded to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center after the man arrived with the stab wound, according to the Berkeley Police Department, which logged the case as number 2026-00049937.
A Second Attack Hours Later
Several hours after the first stabbing, Oakland police responded to another stabbing in the same block and found a man who had been stabbed in the chest, per the same account from Berkeley Scanner. Patch reported that the second stabbing occurred at the same apartment complex just before 7:45 p.m., with Berkeley police officers alerted to the attack as involving the same suspect. Patch reported that the extent of the victims' injuries was not clear.
Reports differ on exactly where officers caught up with Reindl that night. Berkeley Scanner reported that Berkeley police found the suspect on his way back to his Berkeley home near Sacramento Street and Ashby Avenue at about 8:45 p.m., while Patch reported that officers located him walking near his home in the area of Russell and Stanton streets and took him into custody. Both outlets agree that he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Held Without Bail
Reindl was being held without bail following the arrest, according to the Berkeley Scanner report. The Berkeley Police Department announced the arrest in a social media post titled Berkeley Police Arrest Suspect Following Two Stabbings, confirming the case number and the identification of the 33-year-old Berkeley resident as the suspect in both incidents.
Beyond the arrest, many basic details of the case remain unresolved in public reporting, including the precise circumstances that led to each stabbing and the full extent of both victims' injuries. Police have not released additional information about a motive or relationship, if any, between Reindl and the two men who were stabbed.
