A little after 8 p.m. on Tuesday, two men approached and threatened a homeless man on Mission Street between 22nd and 23rd streets, according to the victim.
Yuzuf Equiz, 34, who is often on Mission Street performing for tips, said he was dancing next to three shopping carts full of belongings when two men kicked his white plastic bucket three times, initiating a fight that drew more than 10 police officers, an ambulance and a crowd of more than 20 people.
Officers restrained the three men, all of whom were covered in blood from the fight. The sidewalk was strewn with clothing and items from Equiz’s bucket where he keeps tips and small possessions such as batteries.
A witness who declined to give his name described the fight as “horrific and surreal.” He said he often sees Equiz around the neighborhood, dancing and minding his own business.
“Oh no,” said a woman walking by, after she found out what had happened. “I love this guy.”
After much resistance, officers carried one of the suspects away on a stretcher and put him in an ambulance. The other was carried to an SFPD van. Equiz was disoriented after the fight, but refused medical help.
“I’m just tired,” he said. “I can’t keep getting in fights out here. I don’t want to end up in jail. I don’t want to end up dead.”
“Keep dancing, man,” advised the man who recognized him after bringing Equiz a bottle of water and some food.
“I’m trying to stay happy,” Equiz said. “That’s what keeps me happy is dancing.”
There are plenty of people walking about in the Mission District who are looking for trouble; the odd thing about it is that when you are white you are never considered to be in a gang, so two or three or more white guys strolling about looks fairly harmful and innocuous; unless they are being directly antagonistic and provocative towards you. I’ve seen it; hell, I’ve seen the police acting in that manner, and chuckling about it. So, to suggest that someone who gets into a number of fights must be the cause of them is ludicrous.
Hipsters get away with murder out here and they cause the most late night trouble. The SFPD gives them a pass every time…double standard for sure.
Really? Actual murder? I’d love to hear more.
That guy can scare the hell out of women and often does.He is crude and creepy for sure.That said,people who get drunk and mess with the homeless are truly pieces of shit,what else do they do when they think nobody is watching ? It sounds like those two drunks got a beating and went to jail so maybe every once in awhile there is some justice,though it was probably an accident.Hopefully the drunks will not bother other homeless people,and “good ‘
continue/finish last comment: Hopefully “good ‘ol Yusef” will try to be a little less crude or this will happen again… Ronny
I got footage I was driving when it started this guy is a graffiti artist that life got a little messed up an so what it he hollers at females his a guy what is he suppose to let a fine as female walk in front of him and not even try come on that’s unreal for a frisco native anyWays I got proof he was just dancing when he was getting bullied by both of theses guys that got there ass wupt but I hate jail so free both those guys it was just a brawl fuck the system next time y’all walk by him dancing put some money in his bucket shaaaauuuuuuu
Yes…a man IS supposed to just let a woman walk by. Because yelling things at her makes her feel incredibly uncomfortable, self conscious and sexually threatened. There is a big difference between, “You look lovely today!” and saying, “Show me your panties” as one commenter said he does. Don’t get me wrong–I’m a street performer myself, I know how tough it is, I sympathize with this man, it’s awful he got beaten up, and people should throw a dollar in his bucket if he makes their day. But cat calling is wrong, and it’s easily avoided. Just don’t do it.
Great points in here. One thing no one picked up is space. I came in just after the fight started and then the police came in real fast. But that was enough time for blood to be shed.
The question is, if someone came in to your home, and kicked your vase off your table, would you sit quietly?
The street is the homeless man’s home. It was his bucket they kicked. They did not have to, but they did. For Fun.
I don’t advocate fighting, but as a society, looking at the whole picture sometimes can put things in perspective.
I feel bad for Yousuf, and I feel bad for the two guys who clearly were drunk and were arrested.
Things can and should be better than this.
If all the intelligent people commenting here, actually got together in real life and did something, things will change.
So they tried to jump a homeless man 2 to 1 and one of them goes to the hospital wow what a bunch of pussies
I could see someone getting their butt kicked if they persist in making vulgar comments to a wife or girlfriend . . .
wtf?? i see yuzuf every day when i walk up and down mission. spoke to him for an hour the other day. really nice and intelligent guy who’s down on his luck. those two losers need to get a life!
NIck Jones: Dad was born in the Mission district, 1903. I was first there in 1945. You could learn a lot from history, if you cared to know, about the exceedingly negative area it has been for over a century. Your suggestion to “…move back to from wherever you came,” certainly couldn’t apply to me and shouldn’t apply to anyone. Last time I visited “Frisco” and dared to use that name to identify my birthright I was very negatively criticised by one of those “street people.” Frisco is categorized as an extremely “anything goes” city. It certainly is but when you suggest that people “move back” you are crossing the line into not just liberalism but a reactionary form of government. Hope you stay right where you are. Yes!
I agree. He always says sexual comments to me,
every single time I pass by him (including that night after I went to walgreens).
I don’t like passing by him at all… always saying things and looking at my body.
If this guy wants to be considered the “darling” of the homeless in the Mission, then he ought to cool it with the fighting and crude comments to the women who pass by. And by the looks of it, he seems to be young and more than able to get a job and pay taxes like the rest of us. I struggle too every day to survive and I even raised 5 kids on practically nothing and have even gone homeless a couple of times but I always made sure there was a roof over our heads, a shelter, and that the kids made it to school. I just can’t see why a person who only has himself to care for can’t do better than 3 shopping carts and the street. I am fully aware that there are those who are mentally ill as well as those who are having a hard time finding work and/or a place to live with the skyrocketing rents around here and the smaller job market out there but I find it harder to feel sorry for the lazy, “I don’t want to work” types. Even the junkies get a little sympathy from me as we are in desperate need of more programs and clinics to help them. I was a site manager at a local soup kitchen and I’ve seen it all. But the lazy, “don’t want to pull my own weight” types just don’t get much sympathy from me and there are a lot of them out there who have, maybe, worked 2 or three years way back when they were 20yrs old but now cry how the government owes them everything and are out there collecting the general assistance or SSI while claiming to be disabled. I’ve seen a lot of those “disabled” doing things that if it were a real disability, would not be possible. I’ve heard them admit to faking mental illness in order to collect. That guy doesn’t look disabled and doesn’t seem very 5150 to me. Quit being a burden to society and get a job.
Guy is a weirdo and not a good person if he harasses women . However these guys were trying to steal his money which was probably not much, no one is being critical of the jerks who tried to steal his money? Happened to see the aftermath of the incident, where the cops overstepped their rights and beat the holy hell out of these men. Like what I typed ,I am confused and can’t tell right from wrong now a days.
I assume Yuzuf’s middle name isn’t Safeway, and that his three shopping carts were stolen property. At $175 each, three of them would qualify as a felony.
Did any of the 10 SFPD who raced to the scene ask any questions about that? No — of course not. All ten of them stood around stroking their guns and picking their noses, as usual.
You were a hall monitor, weren’t you?
Gun stroking? Nose picking?
“I’m just tired,” he said. “I can’t keep getting in fights out here. I don’t want to end up in jail. I don’t want to end up dead.”
He’s obviously the antagonist if he “keeps getting in fights”. I’m 35 and never been in a fight my entire life. They are pretty easy to avoid if you’re nice and don’t want to fight people.
You wouldn’t believe how much stuff street performers have to put up with–1) You draw attention to yourself a lot, 2) people know you’ve been collecting cash all day and you have it on you. I’m a street performer (not homeless). Being a woman, the harassment I deal with is more in the sexual harassment category, but there have been a couple of times things have gotten physical when someone was trying to rob me. And there have been a couple of times when I’ve had to get into incredibly aggressive arguments (usually with other street performers) over territory. And I’ve never been in a fight before, and have always been one to favor reasonable discussions. It’s a tough damn racket.
I understand and appreciate that many people get to age 35 and have never been in a fight. That’s awesome.
But to look through that same prism at someone else who lives on the streets, someone who might need to fight once in a while to get through the day, or maybe to get a meal … and then automatically assume that person to be an “antagonist” based upon their circumstances … ???
No way. That’s not even close to a fair analysis.
I agree with you while we’re having 3 meals a day and snack and drink and coZy beds and everything we want this guy gets probably a $1 a day . I always see this guy, never disrespected me and I never seeim him drunk or disrupted
If he’s only getting 1 dollar a day, he’s doing it wrong.
I’m going to guess you’ve never lived on the street though. Especially Mission Street.
But in all fairness, I am pretty sure you don’t spend most of your time on the street. This is his living so the chances of getting into trouble are way more intensified. But I am sure this guy is a douche as other comments have revealed. Whether or not he started this particular fight is unknown but either way there are jerks everywhere. Residents can be creeps just like the bridge & tunnel crowd.
Of course he isn’t…..but until your life is adversely affected by one of the hundreds of deranged schizophrenics, drug addled junkies, homeless, sex offenders, or gang banging thug types freely roaming SF without any oversight, San Franciscans are more likely to applaud and sanctify these types. Doesn’t mean anyone deserves unprovoked violence but I seriously question whether this guy is truly a neighborhood angel who just happens to be down on his luck. We have those types in my neighborhood too…every now and then one breaks loose and rapes a girls, stabs a random passerby, or breaks into things. Sucks for the victims but SF and it’s elected officials are too big hearted and too busy tweeting about their uniquely interesting lives to care about the victims. Inmates running the asylum and we’re all paying the taxes to make sure they can continue doing so in perpetuity.
“Inmates running the asylum” Welcome to San Francisco hipster. Compared to back when I was a kid this is all tame. I used to live in the older VGs and the power went out for 5 minutes and 1 person was killed and 1 young girl was raped. This is the true face of the city. Most hipsters think this is a romantic city, but that’s just crap they feed tourists. Don’t like it here? MOVE. Otherwise just keep your head down and be friendly or risk pissing off the wrong person.
Right On ! Mission Hipster understands the truth about how this City operates. Thank You ,
Barbara tell me how you wannabe San Franciscans know the city. Ya’ll walk around like u own the place but ya’ll don’t know a damn thing about the real SF.
You should move back to where ever the hell you came from. Mission Hipster? More like “Mission Gentrifier”! Move back to your small town HIPSTER!
Get it right….he’s no “hipster” hes a fake from timbuk who gives a f!
…deranged schizophrenics, drug added junkies, homeless… are u talking about the hipsters, Mission Hipster? No seas tan mamón, por cierto.
Yeah they come to SF as “Hipsters” and end up as junkies…Idiots!
you’re not a hipster
Interesting sentiment. You should move back to wherever you came from.
I agree with NIck. U fake!!!
I think he makes some good points. Do not confuse “interesting” activity with criminal activity.
Seriously. I love the Mission!!
You should take your own advice, Nick Jones.
this is why i hate people sometimes. i see and pass this guy several times a day since he dances next door to my place. he doesn’t bother anyone…
I have seen that guy make crude comments to women who walk by him many times including how he wants to see their panties. Not really the nice guy he’s portrayed to be in this article.
I have also witnessed this guy being verbally abusive to women walking by. I don’t like it or him..
I’ve witnessed the same thing on a regular basis; not sure why we’re supposed to sympathize when the man is regularly harassing women.
Because…two wrongs don’t make a right and because people die in fights frequently and because death seems a pretty severe punishment for catcalling, band because the guys who started it, I’m pretty sure, weren’t exacting vigilante justice but were just a couple of terrible people who, I would lay you money, would also like to see your panties. Cat calling is wrong–but violence isn’t the answer.
He never asked to see *my* panties. I would have happily showed him my junk.