Police reported late Saturday night that the woman who virtually locked down Valencia Street between 16th and 18th streets on Friday night was 57-year-old Samantha Helstrom.
Helstrom has been booked on charges of making criminal threats and brandishing a weapon in the Friday siege that began at 1:55 p.m. when a 58-year-old pest control employee and a 32-year-old hotel manager went to Helstrom’s apartment to spray for vermin.
“The suspect opened the door and pointed a handgun at them,” police reported tonight.
That incident began an eight-hour siege in which Helstrom locked herself in her second-floor room.
Offering a few new details tonight, police wrote that at 6:45 p.m. Friday the suspect “stepped out of her apartment and confronted police who had taken up positions in the hallway.”
“Kill me,” Helstrom said several times to the officers, police reported. Police noted at the time that Helstrom appeared to have a gun in her front waistband.
“Two officers equipped with less lethal extended range impact weapons delivered four foam batons which struck Helstrom who returned to her apartment,” police wrote in tonight’s update.
Negotiations continued until Helstrom surrendered Friday at 9:05 p.m.
A full report on Friday’s incident is here. The San Francisco Chronicle in 2001 profiled Helstrom, a former marine, and her journey to Thailand for sexual reassignment surgery.
Police also released a photo of Helstrom:
Massive police over-reaction. I hope Ms Helstrom is OK.
– A Neighbor