A gunfight broke out on Shotwell Street at 7 p.m. Sunday night and ended minutes later after someone shot one young man in his lower leg and then pursued him down the block to George’s Market on the corner of 24th and Shotwell streets.
The victim ran into George’s and the shooter took off, according to police who declined to give a name for the victim.
“They ran him down,” said Officer Harrell who was on the scene at Shotwell and said the fight began mid-block between 24th and 25th streets.
George’s was blocked off and no one inside could be reached for comment. Within 30 minutes of the shooting, police had rounded up at least eight young men on Shotwell and Mission Streets and had detained them for questioning.
“All of a sudden, we heard bang, bang bang,” said one young boy who stood outside of his family’s home on Shotwell Street watching the dozen or so police at the crime scene. Neighbors said they heard eight to nine shots.
Witnesses on the street said that when the ambulance picked the victim up he appeared to have only a minor injury. “His eyes were open and he waved goodbye to someone,” said Peter Guerrero who has lived on the block since 1994.
“I knew it was going to happen,” added Guerrero who said that something had been brewing since Saturday night. “You could just feel it. The way the kids act, all the posturing, the jungle boogie.”
Another neighbor said that it was the perfect storm: an argument, alcohol, yelling.
One neighbor, who asked not be to be identified, said the corner of Shotwell and 24th is “the exact same spot where the shooting happened last year.”
It was unclear if the fight was gang related. One neighbor said the victim was covered in tattoos. “Everyone’s got tattoos,” said another neighbor.
Police detained eight men who fit the description of the suspect: a male dressed in a white shirt and dark pants. Four were lined up on Shotwell, sitting with their backs against the wall, their legs stretched out in front.
Another four men sat on the sidewalk outside of McDonald’s on 24th and Mission streets.
The young men detained were suspected of a crime. Therefore, they are suspects. That doesn’t mean they committed the crime. It means police had some suspicion/evidence/reason to keep them for further questioning.
At the newspaper I write for, we would use the term suspect in a similar case. We have also published photos/mug shots of suspects. This is normal protocol for a crime story.
Is the story a violence prevention effort or business as usual. Above this story the community is working….
I was born and raised on Shotwell only to move out and visit when I have to…I witnessed the fight and shooting and none the boys pictured had anything to do with the fight and shooting that happened that day and I pointed that out to the police at the scene…And not being around the neighborhood on a consistent basis I don’t know who is who…But I can tell you who lives on Shotwell and who doesn’t…And that is the problem…They should go and hang out where they live and see how their family and neighbors like all the BS that they cause…But what can you say to these youngsters who have guns and don’t think of consequences…It makes me sad and angry at the same time…
Lydia, ojalá que realmente pienses en los comentarios que te hizo Ariel Vargas.
okay… mission neighbor, you’re seriously concerned about property values? a man was shot! wow, you really are a gentrifier, one of those white people the community hates for a reason. anyways… people shouldn’t get detained because they wear oversized white t-shirts, let’s face it, that’s what the white cops thought in the south forty years ago, except instead of white t-shirts, it was black skin. the racial profiling in some of these comments is really upsetting. do we really want SFPD detaining every brown teenager in a white t-shirt? are “they” ruining the neighborhood? no… what do all of you do to help “them” besides criticize and profile? do you volunteer? do you mentor youth in your community? gangs and violence are a product of poverty and a crappy education system. racial profiling is a crime. instead of being judgmental about the white t-shirt wearing latino youth, let’s be a little more thoughtful, please…
Mission Neighbor, how do you stop someone from shooting someone who really wants to? And, one reason the cops can’t stop crime as well in the Mission is because… no one tells them anything. Even non-criminals here take the “stop snitching” bait hook, line and sinker. Do we think cops are mind-readers?
Police work for a community that wants to be policed. Otherwise, with no community help, they are hapless strangers with guns in the community they are paid to protect. YOU have to reach out and help THEM.
it’s my understanding that large white t-shirts and jeans have been gang uniform for some time, I recall reading something about that in regard to some guys in detroit a year ago. basically, banking on the (usually) white police problem of “all you (insert minority) look the same to me” and making it difficult to pinpoint who the one person was, because they’re all dressed similarly. pretty clever, in a sad way, banking on racism to get you off the hook.
I have lived on Shotwell street near the 24th street intersection now for 4 years. The SFPD say that crime is down, that’s a crock. last year 2 shootings resulting in fatalities numerous fights which are more like gang beat downs of 3 to 8 people beating on 1 individual. MY question is it’s the weekend of carnival where the hell were the Cops? Why was there not a stronger Police presence throughout the whole weekend? this particular weekend as well as Cinco De Mayo of all weekends in the mission should be the 2 most obvious that there will be trouble. Instead we saw a traffic cop/DPT Nazi giving dumbass parking tickets everywhere all weekend long but good luck seeing a SFPD. How is it that with all there intelligence and crime fighting training that the neighbors knew this kind of shit was gonna happen but the cops did not. There should have been at least 2 cops per intersection the whole weekend of the event Lord knows they have enough money by now from the damn parking tickets they give out.
what it tells me is that it is more important to collect money then to stop these troubled youth from shooting each other and possibly innocent bi standers.
Crime in the mission is down they said….I’ll tell you what’s down in the mission..Property value cause of this. That’s what is down.
Huh? these guys looks like they belong around 19th street, you can never find this outfit near 24th, but i guess time has changed. i don’t care if the picture were not blurred, please use common sense of how to identify a trouble maker, we need to be aware of these people…
The guy who got shot is ok. He took a hit in the knee which is painful as f*ck but not deadly. My second-hand story: the guy who got shot had just got done beating up another dude. A friend of the guy who got beat up pulled out a gun and chased the guy while firing. Everybody involved should have known better. Totally pointless and incredibly dangerous.
Bad journalism. Oh! My bad- it’s a blog. A pic of suspects? Still, even some of my cop hating friends that were at the restaurant across the way were happy to see them come out and put a stop to something thAt could have turned out even worse. Common sense is not racial profiling- between their clothes and swagger- I’d cross the street rather than risk getting jumped or killed by these thugs in training.
Thank you for posting this story. Others in my building heard the shots (not me) and we were wondering what happened. One plausible positive outcome of posting the pictures of the suspects is that their parents may see the pictures and be able to make a difference. Pretending gangs and violence don’t exist in the Mission is the best way to ensure that gangs and violence thrive…and that’s the real crime…young lives continuing to be subverted into joining gang culture. Expose them, arrest them, prosecute them or they will continue to recruit children away from their parents.
In all seriousness, this incident put a damper on a great Carnaval, and I hope it does not provide fuel to the Nimby’s that dislike the event. The same happened to the September event dubbed Festival of the Americas.
George’s Market is the fine purveyor of oversize, 50/50 poly-cotton blend black and white tees. A fashion staple of Mission youth. If only they could discover the sheer joy of velvety smooth, 100% cotton jersey t-shirts from American Apparel.
At least on my computer, in the picture caption, it still says “suspects”. This picture and caption are the first thing visitors look at. This is really sloppy work. If I ran a blog I’d be appalled, because, when attacked, bloggers every now and then run for a blogging-deserves-the-defenses-of-journalism. Opponents only need to point at a post like this to show that bloggers aren’t up to customary standards and expectations.
That’s being changed. Thank you for pointing that out. best, lc
my 3 year old daughter and I almost walked right into this mess. We ran back towards S. Van Ness and across 24th to 25th. There an SUV had slammed into a civic and the cops had a bunch of kids in custody in front of the Phone Booth Bar.
even if they didn’t do the shooting, hand them over to the god damned fashion police for the all white t-shirts
Revenge doesn’t need the internet. When someone lives the target known. The question is when and how. Ariel, well written post.
I was right near there. There group of guys the victim was with (and who helped him into George’s) were all wearing some red, coincidence or not. I didn’t see where the shooting was coming from. Taqueria Guadalajara’s kitchen are has a bullet hole in it. Pretty shitty: the sidewalks were still bustling with kids and families from Carnival, it’s a miracle no one else got hit.
Lydia, as a journalist you must weigh the benefits and consequences of your posting those photos. These young men might be targetted for revenge, whether they are guilty or not. If one of them is shot as a result of this photo being posted, you may share in responsibility for that. Is there a benefit to having that photo posted (sensation? Escalated number of web hits? Recognition for “hot” journalism?) That outweighs the risk? Your rationalization for why it should be posted belies the fact that you have yet to bury a young brown man killed violently. And if you are familiar with this violence personally, you’re not yet familiar enough to understand the very real danger you are putting thes young men in. I am very concerned.
Ariel: Thank you for your comment. All of this is something to think about and I will, but to me, the photos aren’t sensational, but life. Best, Lydia
Let’s see tatoos, white shirts, dark pants that gives the police a crowd to choose from. Reminds me of the great line from Casablanca when Capt. Reanult paused and said “round up the usual suspects.” The argument and shooting was a sad end to a perfect celebration. What breaks my heart is seeing the little kids clutching their moms as the stretcher is rolled to the ambulance. somehow something has to change.
Thank you for all of your comments. I agree with the reader who points out that the young men were detained and not necessarily suspects. The piece has been changed to reflect that. However, I disagree about blurring their faces. The young men were in full view of many people on the street and in the neighborhood. Who was detained is already known. Still making such a choice is something to consider and think about. I did when I posted the photos, and I understand your concerns. There’s never a perfect way to cover a crime and the issue you raise is one of the more difficult. Best, Lydia
The SFPD will tell you that crime is down!!! What a joke.
I agree, you their faces should be blurred.
take the photo off the web
If these fools are looking for a uniform, could they at least pick something more distinctive than a #¥@$! white t-shirt n’ jeans?
Uniforms, kinda like all those gangsters loafing around montgomery street on weekdays….
why do you refer to the kids in the photo as suspects? because they were detained by the cops? because they matched the vague description of latino male in jeans and a white t-shirt? those guys did nothing wrong, i saw them walk up the crime scene 15 minutes after the fact wondering what happened. let’s face it, they were handcuffed and stopped, and questioned by cops and photographed by you because they are young latino males in jeans and white t-shirts. please don’t call them suspects, it’s offensive.
Hmm, look like they are in uniforms to me
I think you should take their pic off or blur their faces, you dont know if there guilty or not, your making their faces targets to other people. INC. rival gang members, & gang task force, I think we should avoid trouble