Update 8/4/17: According to San Francisco General Hospital spokesperson Brent Andrew, one of the victims was discharged home, one is a juvenile, and one is still in critical condition.
Police report three people were injured, one critically, in a shooting that occurred Thursday afternoon at Dolores Park. The victims have been identified as a 16-year-old male, a 69-year-old male, and a 37-year-old male – the latter sustained life-threatening injuries.
Visitors reported hearing a series of five or six gunshots just after 3 p.m.
“We located three victims behind the footbridge,” said police spokesperson Grace Gatpandan. All three suffered from gunshot wounds, she said. No arrest has yet been made, but “We have officers who are out there looking for the suspect(s).”
Citing the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation, Gatpandan said she could not immediately provide suspect descriptions.
#SFPD is on scene investigating a shooting that occurred. 3 shooting victims at this time. All are being transported to the hospital. #SF
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) August 3, 2017
Police are asking people to avoid the area, and request that anyone with information about the incident call the SFPD Tip Line at (415)575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the text with SFPD.
The shooting appears to have taken place on or near the footbridge connecting Dolores Park and Church Street at 19th Street. One victim was reportedly found in the entrance to the footbridge closest to the park.
“I heard five or six shots, a lot of shots, a young kid…and and old guy who was shot in the leg, I think the young kid was more serious,” said one park visitor, Olivia. “I was just was walking here from work…everyone ran down the hill, everybody ran out of the park.”
Multiple park visitors reported seeing young man running down the hill toward the park’s tennis courts with a gunshot wound. One person said the youth then collapsed, before paramedics arrived and moved him onto a stretcher. Another victim, found at or near the footbridge, was reported to have been more seriously injured.
Police have not given an age or other description of the victims.
— TYCHO (@ISO50) August 3, 2017
Park visitor Manu said they saw an armed man, possibly the perpetrator.
“I heard shots, I turned around, and I saw a guy with a gun…It was one person, but there were other people standing with him,” Manu said. “I saw one guy laying down, he was conscious…the other guy I couldn’t see. We thought it was fireworks at first, but then everyone started running”
Another person said visitors kept low to the ground as they fled, apparently fearing further gunfire.
“I saw people running… running and rolling, a lot of rolling to try to stay low,” the visitor said.
just fucking bailed out of #DoloresPark after we heard 5 gunshots ring out. everyone stay safe
— r o c k y (@rockylubbers) August 4, 2017
We will update this story as more information becomes available.
Police have not reported the medical status of the victims. No arrests have been made.
Church has been cordoned off by police between Cumberland and 18th streets.
Gang Task Force officers could be seen at the scene, though Gatpandan said this does not necessarily indicate gang involvement.
“It’s very common for Gang Task Force to come out for any shooting that happens, it’s not necessarily saying this one has gang relation,” she said.
Despite the heavy police presence, many Dolores Park goers remained in the park throughout and after the incident.
SFPD activity at Dolores Park: Officers on scene and the scene is secure.
— SFPD Mission Station (@SFPDMission) August 4, 2017
Couldn’t agree with David more, the silence is stunning on all fronts. If this were Alta Plaza or Lafayette Park or Marina Green the outrage would be deafening, hell, Willie Brown would be all over the new lawlessness of the big city. But broad daylight shootings are what happens when your local politicians are overly concerned about warm and fuzzy issues such as plastic bags, climate change, menthol cigarettes, ride-share services, sugary drinks, renaming public squares and airport, etc, etc, etc. How much money was spent renovating this park, or should I say how many TENS OF MILLIONS? Check out the budgets of Richmond, Sacramento, even Oakland for perspective. Our city administrators and elected officials should be strutting around in togas with laurels around their heads. Why were cameras not included, seriously? Why isn’t this park lit up like a Christmas tree at night? Why are criminal elements even allowed in the park? You can’t tell me they don’t stick out like a sore thumb. If you’re hanging out on that bridge it’s stop and frisk time, let it be known. Word will get out, rest assured. I am a 100% law enforcement believer but there is no reason whatsoever that Mission Station shouldn’t have a cruiser in this park damn near 100% of the time. Why isn’t it mandatory that every single cruiser be required to drive through this park several times during their beat? We give the SFPD everything they ask for. Raises? Done. Pensions? Done. Generous pay? Done. Everything is a DONE, DONE, DONE. Oakland cops are one per car. Yeah, Oakland: one cop per car more times than not. The unruliness in Dolores Park is a lack of leadership from Mission Station so don’t give us that crap about staffing. I say again: I am a BIG believer in Mission Station cops. This city has a TEN BILLION DOLLAR budget. Per capita easily the richest big city in the United States yet this city is crime-ridden as never before and save the statistics to the contrary for your community meetings. Our elected officials and city administrators bitch and bitch about the trash in the park after a busy afternoon but what do they expect with limited trash bins? Are they the least bit concerned about solving this issue or simply passing judgement? You’d think Park and Rec would get it by now: weekends=visitors=trash=bloody mess. I refer back to that TEN BILLION DOLLAR budget: you’d think someone downtown would step up and say hey, let’s just spread some cans around Friday afternoon, pick them up Saturday night and again Sunday afternoon. No, much easier to maintain a stubborn, no common sense attitude and blame the unwashed masses.
Your a crazy Trump lover
Light dolores park up like a Christmas free? Don’t you care about wasting energy? Shame on you Robert Shame. No stop and frisk and no credit card swipe up the rear.
Hey Dexter: thanks for weighing in, You asked a valid question and I’ll answer: no, I couldn’t care less about wasting energy. I can afford it no matter what the price unlike the low income seniors roasting throughout the United States that are forced to take shelter in libraries and senior centers. As a matter of fact, I leave my exterior house lights on all night for both my tenants convenience as well as to discourage criminal activity, especially violence. If PGE jacks my rates up five-fold I won’t change a thing. As for stop and frisk, I’m not thinking so much of myself but of others that are forced onto our public transportation and forced to walk our darkened streets at night. There is zero, and I mean zero reason that anyone should feel the least bit uncomfortable walking on any street in any neighborhood in this city. It’s a frame of mind, my friend.
As for Trump, everyone is entitled to their voice at the ballot box but he has one thing over you: he’s witnessed and been a big part of a city at ground zero of an urban wasteland that transformed itself: aka NYC. That is the bottom line to me.
DP become a place where you bring food/ beer/ Alcohol and leave it there at the end of the day. Gangs are spreading like mosquitos. smell of drugs instead of a fresh air. Homeless took over with their Urins and their garbage trucks.. DP become as a war zone / a town a Columbia. Police do not care at all. Time for a change
Probably related to drugs and gangs. That specific spot is widely known to be a drug marketplace.
Last month, there were 31 comments in response (reaction, actually) to the Dolores Park Style article.
Folks were outraged and offended. But the crowd that cared so much about what other people wear just can’t seem to get worked up about three people getting shot.
‘Gang task force presence doesn’t necessarily indicate gang involvement’ How much bull is that? anyone who has been around that location knows that this is gang territory and that members and lookouts are always there. The police know and everyone knows, this has been building for some time. Several stabbings and shootings in the last year stemming from the activities in this location, weapons are found regularly. It’s beyond me why people can’t see this stuff getting out of hand for the last year at least and why SFPD. does nothing about it….