The San Francisco Medical Examiner confirmed today that the two men who died Thursday in an officer-involved shooting died from gunshot wounds.
Both were listed as homicides.
Michael MacFhionghain, 57, his residence unknown, died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Medical Examiner’s report.
Rafael Mendoza, 49, his address also unknown, died of a gunshot wound to the torso, the same report said.
Mission Local asked in an email if either man had stab wounds. The response in the report was simply, “There is no additional information to disclose.”
The officers arrived at the scene on Thursday, May 19, around 7:48 p.m. after reports of an aggravated assault near the intersection of Mariposa and Owens streets. They discharged their weapons, according to a police statement the evening of the incident.
It was unclear at the time if the men had died from stab wounds during an assault.
The incident took place just yards away from the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and the I-280 freeway.
Once police arrived on the scene, they located two men and soon fired shots, an SFPD press release stated.
The two men were later identified as MacFhionghain and Mendoza.
Medics were called and officers rendered aid to the men. One man died at the scene, and another was transported to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where he later died.
A young woman and man who live in apartments near the intersection told Mission Local Friday morning that they received a text from the city’s ALERTSF service at 8:30 p.m. that reported police activity and emergency crews at Mariposa and Owens streets.
At 10:33 p.m., San Francisco Police Department spokesman Officer Robert Rueca tweeted that “pedestrian and vehicle traffic” were closed as a result, and a “suspect is not at large.”
A University of California, San Francisco, researcher on his way to work Friday morning said UCSF Police notified him about the altercation but, because residents or staff commonly receive alerts in the area, it did not appear unusual.
The researcher, who asked not to be named, showed Mission Local a 3 a.m. message from UCSF Police that said the issue had been resolved.
The San Francisco Police Department will hold a town hall within 10 days to address the officer-involved shooting.
In the last five years, officer-involved shootings have generally decreased. There were six in 2017, five in 2018, three in 2019, four in 2020, and two last year, data shows.
The District Attorney’s Office, the Department of Police Accountability and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will investigate. The San Francisco Police Department’s Investigative Services Division and Internal Affairs Division will also conduct investigations.
Mission Local has reached out to the UCSF Police, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Chief Medical Examiner’s office for more information.
This story is breaking and may be updated.
Crime is trauma and the county offers different services, which can be found here. Victims of violent crime can also contact the Trauma Recovery Center at UCSF.
The SFPD’s data on crime can be found here.
Considering how much flak the police get from the public for the work they do, it is not surprising that they are cautious about releasing information. Let’s be clear, as long as their only real tool is a lethal weapon they will be killing people, especially people acting wild and who pose a threat to others. As a community, we need to push the police to set their phasers to stun.
Link to the autopsy?
Other news sources report that the police shot both the assaulter AND the victim. Both men “had no addresses”. The guy that was stabbing the other one was definitely killed by SFPD. The medical examiner has not determined cause of death of the victim – he had both stab wounds and bullet wound. I’m not sure what to think – holy cows!
How do you know he had stab wounds? When Mission Local asked the ME about that specifically they said there was no other information to disclose.
I watched the video, plus there are evidence photos of 2 bloody knives. The police shot the perp, who was on top of the victim, one with an assault rifle and the other with a 9mm. The perp was killed immediately , and the victim was fading out when EMTs arrived. If I were the victims family Id have those officers jobs at the very least, as well as a minimum of $20,000,000 for the wrongful death of my loved one.
“Testoserone is a hell of a drug”
ok that’s weird. the article I read before has been scrubbed and replaced by an updated story that doesn’t mention the stabbing. I guess there’s a narrative (or lack of narrative) that is being pushed and well, it looks like the story has been buried anyways. I was following the story closely because I work near that spot and was concerned for my safety. OH WELL.
Zero information from the Police on their double homicide but coincidentally their former spokeperson Supervisor Matt Dorsey and Mayor Breed had press releases today about how they are not marching in Pride in solidarity with “police diversity”… please somebody investigate this and don’t let them switch the frame!
I whole heartedly agree.
If you look at other cities where police are asked not to march in uniform, no community leaders back out. Only those who are very much steeped in their own reelection campaigns, perhaps.
2 human beings were murdered, regardless by who, and zero information is being released to the public. Where exactly are we living when authority can kill, and respond to no one? This is disheartening, enraging and we can demand more out of our gun patroling cowboys. Be safe my people.
SF crime is out of control. SFPD needs more officers. SF needs more mental health beds. We need to lock down ppl with severe unchecked mental health issues if they are homeless. It keeps them safe and the community safe. Glad no cops were injured.
Excuse me, it appears that the cops may have killed the victim and the perp.
We do not need more cops, we need better cops.
klaire is just another knee-jerk reactionary looking for points from the SFPOA. it should be concerning how little information has been released publicly about the death of two people. this is clearly a case of the sfpd withholding information (aka coverup) in an incident invlolving officers discharging weapons. and no news org (mission local included) has sought to independently investigate. perhaps they’re hoping the remoteness of the location away from a residental area will allow everyone to move on and forget.