When the security guard at Mission Neighborhood Health Center approached the fire he had watched a homeless resident set a few feet in front of the building this morning, the man withdrew a pistol and aimed it at the guard’s face.
Although the guard stood only a few feet away, no one was harmed and the fire was contained without reaching the building.
“I was a bit nervous, a bit scared,” the guard said in Spanish. “There were a lot of things going on, like the fire,” which started near the clinic’s door and grew large.
“So when he pulled out the pistol, I was just like this,” he said, mimicking a solemn expression. That was enough. The individual backed off from the scene.
The San Francisco Police Department has identified and arrested the individual, a 33-year-old male, a police department representative wrote in an email to Mission Local. Charges are pending.
Storey and others said the same individual police arrested acted erratically on Monday, beating his parked car with a bat and stabbing it repeatedly with a large knife. He also lit a fire in the street later on Monday night, and then returned this morning to start another fire and threaten the guard.
There has been an encampment along Shotwell Street, just across from the health center, for a while, but generally the residents living there are peaceful, staff said. After the incidents of the last two days, however, staff are looking for a city response that will allow its staff and patients to feel safe.
“Looking at the big picture, we understand the situation of homelessness is difficult and the majority of homeless keep to themselves,” Storey said. “What we’re looking for is that, if there’s any individual that gets out of hand, we need a response.”
When the security guard arrived around 7 a.m. to start work and saw the fire near the clinic’s door, he tried to intervene, but the man began to “get furious, and yell at me and insult me.”
“I was scared,” the guard said, then called the police.
A janitor saw the fire, too, and ran out to get a hose and put out the flames that began creeping up a nearby palm tree, said Karen Warner, the chief of human resources.
But the altercation and fire this morning should not have happened, especially since the same person wielded other weapons and started a fire yesterday, Warner and Storey said.
“It was a clear escalation. His tools kept getting worse,” Warner said.
Storey hopes that city officials can come up with a solution that balances the needs of homeless residents while keeping patients and staff safe. She pointed out that if the tree burned more intensely, it could have spread to the building.
Persons who start fires in the street need to be removed, and, if possible, immediately placed into a mental health respite center, Storey said.
On Monday, Warner noted that a staff member sent her an email with a video of the individual beating his car.
At around 5:30 p.m., Warner heard screams from her office and then checked outside her window, and discovered the individual with a knife that had a blade six inches long.
“I heard screaming, and I don’t get up at the first scream,” Warner said. She then saw the man stabbing his own car on the roof and the side.
Warner called the police who promptly came just before 6 p.m. By the time officers arrived, the individual had stopped acting out. Police spoke with him, but then left.
Later Monday night, a nearby resident sent an email to Storey alerting her that the individual had started a fire in the middle of the street. Apparently the neighbor called 911, and the fire was put out.
“They talk [sic] to him and then left,” the email from the neighbor explained.
On Tuesday morning, following the gun altercation, many health center staff were shaken up. “Those who witnessed any part of it were pretty agitated,” Warner said of the employees.
The Mission Neighborhood Health Center runs a resource center on Capp Street that regularly works with the unhoused, so “the compassion for the unhoused and the people living here for months is still important for us,” said health center spokesperson Lupita Franco.
However, she added that the center has hosted evening vaccination appointments, and women, elderly patients and children are constantly around and should be protected. “We have plenty of children, and that cannot be jeopardized. It is a difficult position, but it is something that needs to be addressed,” Franco said.
They worried that the incident could have easily escalated.
“Look at Los Coyotes,” Storey said, referring to a suspected debris fire a few weeks ago that displaced roughly 22 residents. Another fire was put out near 16th and Mission streets last week. “It’s putting us all at risk,” Storey said.
On Tuesday afternoon, a city worker was clearing charred remains of the fire outside the center. The security guard was offered counseling services, but appears to be okay so far.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the San Francisco Police Department SFPD 24-hour-tip line at 1-415-575-4444, or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous.
The guy has SERIOUS mental issues. Saw him last night up on 22nd. St. near Makeout Room screaming & throwing bottles & threatening people – just like was doing for the last year.
I guess 3 weeks in jail for attempted arson & pulling a gun was plenty of time served & he is rehabilitated by now.
Not safe.
Any update on whether this guy was charged?
That car was parked near 22nd and Shotwell regularly for a few weeks. The residents had to call the police about him almost every night. He should have been arrested weeks ago.
At some point the City must recognize that while we protect the human rights of all people, the interests of those who function, own homes, pay rent, open businesses, work, and contribute to the economy, must be prioritized too. They are the group paying for it all. Mayor Breed has begun to understand this. I hope our representatives will too.
Who with even half a functioning brain isn’t tired of this? Can we please stop prioritizing the freedoms of the drug addicted mentally ill over our residents and businesses. Annika please follow up on how the DA and judges handle this case. thank you for the reporting.
I’d like to know if the police even processed this. They left this guy on the street 2x before he pulled a gun. Maybe they let him go again. Would be consistent with doing nothing at that dispensary and the parklet downtown.
The more remnant progressives like Ronen are more compassionate to homeless people then they are to housed residents, election outcomes like last night’s are going to be more and more frequent.
Are we going to have to threaten a recall to get action from the D9 supe?
Drugs are annoying.
Yelling is annoying.
Fire is for real.
“They worried that the incident could have easily escalated.”
how much worse can it get than a fire and threat with a gun?
He could pull the trigger.
i saw that car today-nuts. is it really owned by this guy or stolen? yes, definitely don’t disrupt the ‘residents’ across the street. the sidewalk is impassable with their junk and stolen bikes. bug your supervisor. this free-for-all with pyrotechnics is happening throughout the mission and is not acceptable.
That crew over there is WILD! I reported them once because they had dozens of drivers licenses all spread out on the ground and were working the cell phones clearly trying to open credit card accounts or something. Suuuper bad news. Why do we have to have criminal gangs operating from our sidewalks? Do we not deserve a quality life? They’ve been there for years!