Shootings
Neighbors heard two gunshots. A woman at the scene told KTVU that her brother-in-law was suffering from mental health issues.
Neighbors identified the married couple found dead Friday outside their Oakland home on Panoramic Hill as Michelle and Bryan Walker.
Without naming the victims Friday morning, Oakland police said the couple had been shot, a gun was found at the scene and investigators were not looking for anyone else.
A neighbor who heard gunshots discovered the couple outside their home at 499 Panoramic Way around 10:45 a.m., police said. They died despite rescue efforts.
Online maps and real estate records show that 499 Panoramic Way marks a driveway leading to 435 Panoramic Way, where Michelle, 63, lived with Bryan, 64.
The property, located just two lots east of the Berkeley border, was last sold in 2009.
In a report Friday afternoon, KPIX said it viewed surveillance footage that captured the sound of the shooting: a gunshot, followed by “a man screaming and crying,” then a second gunshot followed by silence.
“It’s too graphic to be broadcast on air,” said journalist Da Lin.
A woman at the scene told KTVU that the victim was her sister “and her brother-in-law suffered from mental health issues.”
Michelle Walker, listed as Michelle Min in public records, was a clothing designer who launched the Berkeley-based clothing brand Bryn Walker in 1992.
“Bryn Walker continues to design and produce clothing in the San Francisco Bay Area and enjoys a loyal and enthusiastic following with timeless, versatile and practical pieces,” according to the company’s website.
Bryn Walker “wholesales to about a thousand stores across the country” and lists three stores on its website: two in Berkeley, at 1799 Fourth St. and 2111 D Vine St., and one in Massachusetts. The brand is also available in department stores like Dillard’s.
According to another site, promoting a fashion show at a museum in Florida, Michelle and Bryan Walker produced clothing together at Bryn Walker, focusing on “comfort and style for women of all ages.”
Bryan Walker was the company’s CEO, according to his LinkedIn page.
During the pandemic, the company partnered with a Bay Area nonprofit, It Takes A Village, “to sew 50,000 cloth masks and construct 5,000 face shields” to donate to local hospitals, according to a 2020 TMC Financing article.
The couple appeared to be keeping a low profile, with neighbors saying they were quiet and often kept to themselves.
Both were registered to vote at a West Berkeley commercial building associated with Bryn Walker.
The company does not appear to have active pages on social media, particularly on Facebook. Her Instagram pages are private or inactive.
At the time of publication, Bryn Walker had not responded to requests for information.
The Alameda County coroner’s office said a press hold remains in place, preventing it from releasing the names of the deceased.
“The OPD Homicide Division is conducting a follow-up investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths,” the department said in a brief statement Friday.
OPD is asking anyone with information, videos or photos related to the case to call the homicide section at 510-238-3821 or the tip line at 510-238-7950, or email cidvideos@oaklandca.gov.
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