Family of man killed in homeless shelter sues Berkeley, BOSS for failing to protect him

"The family of Marcel Dupree Jones, an unhoused Black man shot and killed in what authorities have described as a hate crime, has sued the man charged with his murder, along with the nonprofit that runs the Northwest Berkeley homeless shelter where Jones was killed and the city of Berkeley, which funds the nonprofit. Two of Jones' preschool-aged children filed a civil complaint through a guardian Nov. 18, accusing the city, shelter and roommate of negligence, civil rights violations and other claims."

"Jones, 37, was a week away from graduating a pre-apprenticeship program and headed for a construction career when he was fatally shot on Aug. 25, 2024, at Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency's (BOSS) Ursula Sherman Village shelter at Harrison and Fourth streets. Berkeley police arrested his then-roommate, 63-year-old Mark Christopher Dowling, the next day. Dowling, who is white, was an open and avowed racist who sought out Black individuals to fight, Jones' family's attorneys wrote."

"On the evening he was killed, Jones played a Tupac song at the shelter, which Dowling did not like, and after a physical fight with Jones, Dowling left the shelter to get a gun from his car, having made up his mind to make good on his numerous earlier threats of shooting Black individuals, according to the family's complaint. He came back into the shelter armed and shot Jones three times in the chest, back and abdomen, according to the family's complaint."

Marcel Dupree Jones, 37, was fatally shot Aug. 25, 2024, at Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency's Ursula Sherman Village shelter in Northwest Berkeley. Two preschool-aged children filed a civil complaint Nov. 18 through a guardian, suing the city of Berkeley, the nonprofit running the shelter and the man accused of killing Jones for negligence, civil-rights violations and other claims. Jones was days from completing a pre-apprenticeship program and pursuing a construction career. Police arrested his then-roommate, 63-year-old Mark Christopher Dowling, the following day. Complaint alleges Dowling was an avowed racist who repeatedly threatened Black neighbors, fought with residents and shot Jones after returning armed to the shelter.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org