Who were Bryan and Michelle Walker, fashion CEO and wife killed in shooting near UC Berkeley?

Michelle and Bryan Walker, the couple behind clothing brand Bryn Walker, were killed in a shooting outside their Oakland Hills home on Friday.

A well-known Bay Area clothing designer and her husband were found dead outside their Oakland Hills, California home after a shooting Friday morning. The couple, identified by public records and neighbors as Bryan and Michelle Walker, had built the Bryn Walker clothing brand together.

Bryan and Michelle Walker, the couple behind the Bryn Walker clothing brand, were found dead outside their Oakland Hills home. (Unsplash)

Here is what we know about them.

Who were Bryan and Michelle Walker?

Public records and neighbors identified the homeowners as Bryan and Michelle Walker, well-known clothing designers. The couple runs Bryn Walker clothing stores in Berkeley and Massachusetts. Their clothing is also sold wholesale to boutiques across the country.

According to the Berkeley Scanner, Michelle Walker is listed as Michelle Min in public records. She started the Berkeley-based clothing brand Bryn Walker in 1992. Bryan Walker was the company's CEO, according to his LinkedIn page.

“Bryn Walker continues to design and produce clothing in the San Francisco Bay Area, and enjoys a loyal and enthusiastic following with pieces which are timeless and versatile as well as practical,” the company's website says.

The website also says the brand “wholesales to around a thousand boutiques nationwide.” It lists three stores, including two in Berkeley at 1799 Fourth St. and 2111 D Vine St, and one in Massachusetts. Bryn Walker clothing is also sold at department stores such as Dillard's.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company partnered with Bay Area nonprofit It Takes A Village “to sew 50,000 fabric face masks and construct 5,000 face shields” for local hospitals, according to a 2020 TMC Financing.

Couple found dead outside Oakland Hills home

A married couple known for their work in the clothing industry died in a shooting outside their home in the Oakland Hills on Friday morning, authorities said.

The shooting happened at about 10:43am local time on Panoramic Way, near the Berkeley city limit and just east of the University of California, Berkeley campus.

The Berkeley Police Department said its officers found two people shot and gave life-saving help until medics arrived. Oakland Police Assistant Chief Casey Johnson said Oakland officers arrived at the same time. He said both victims, who lived in the home, died at the scene.

What police have said

Johnson did not name the victims. He said the woman was 63 years old and the man was 61, as per CBS News. Johnson said investigators were not ruling out a possible murder-suicide.

"We aren't looking currently for anyone at large," Johnson said. “There is no current threat to the neighborhood.”

Johnson also said a firearm was located at the scene.

According to Berkeley Scanner, police said a neighbor who heard gunfire found the couple outside their home at 499 Panoramic Way at about 10:45am local time, Police said no one else is being searched for. Oakland Police's Homicide Division is carrying out a follow-up investigation into the circumstances surrounding their death, the department said in a brief statement on Friday..

KPIX said it reviewed surveillance footage that captured the sound of the shooting. As per the report, it was a gunshot, followed by “a man screaming and crying,” then a second gunshot followed by silence. “It's too graphic to play on air."