In the seconds after a car cruised by a Friday night party in front of Mission Skateboards and sprayed the group of young people gathered there with gunfire, the community kicked in.
Some of the uninjured ripped off their shirts to make tourniquets, others held and comforted the wounded as they waited for paramedics to arrive. A couple ran after the Mercedes-Benz that had driven by seconds earlier and fired into the crowd.
This is the scene described by two witnesses to the drive-by shooting that wounded one woman and eight men — most of them in their 20s with the oldest victim being 34. One remains in critical condition, three are still recovering in the hospital and five have been discharged.
“I thought it was the end of the world, and I’m glad it wasn’t,” said one eyewitness who requested anonymity. “And if it had been, I’m glad it was around people who all were exactly who you’d hope they’d be.”
“We watched our friends and neighbors selflessly tend to the wounded without question. Our peers were the best and bravest of San Francisco, we will forever be honored to have them in our lives,” read a statement from Mission Skateboards posted the day after the shooting.
The shooting occurred a little after 9 p.m. when the corner of Treat Avenue and 24th Street was crowded with dozens of people in front of Mission Skateboard celebrating the six-year anniversary of the clothing brand Dying Breed, located in the same storefront.
Suddenly, four or five shots rang out on the Treat Avenue side of Mission Praxis, which is next door to Mission Skateboards, according to a witness near a chopped cheese sandwich vendor on 24th Street. Once everyone realized the sound wasn’t fireworks, the crowd panicked.
It was someone recklessly shooting from a car, “spraying everybody,” said one witness.
Fearing the shooter might turn back around, two party guests pursued him briefly before losing him.
“No one that got shot had more than a neighborhood relationship to each other,” a witness said.
The eyewitness near the cheese sandwich vendor sprinted off with two others toward Balmy Alley to take shelter. They then looped around to check in on everyone. People were either in shock “not moving” on the ground, “screaming,” or trying to keep the injured awake.
“There was a guy whose bullet went through his chest, and they were trying to find [the bullet],” one witness said. “And they realized that it was the [same] bullet that hit the guy behind him — in the head, upper right temple.”
Immediately, someone went to the man shot in the head and was “leaning up against him, trying to hold his head still, and trying to make sure he was stable.”
The man shot in the head was leaning against Mission Praxis, while the one in the shot chest was propped against the electrical box on the corner.
At least two men were shot in the leg, witnesses said. One of the men’s mothers spoke to the media saying he was not part of a gang. The witness recalled the man “was remarkably calm after being shot.”
Police arrived within minutes of the shooting, and paramedics arrived soon after, witnesses said. A local homeless man refused to leave the scene before everyone had been taken to the hospital.
Many locals described the parties Mission Skateboards and Dying Breed throws as fun and safe community events. Friday’s incident was an outlier, not something that anyone imagined happening.
“Our heart hurts for the victims and our community as a whole due to the acts of Friday night,” read a joint-statement released Monday by Mission Skateboards and Dying Breed, a local brand that was celebrating its sixth anniversary at the shop Friday night.
“We have endured our fair share of adversity over decades of economic fluctuations, cultural struggles and personal sacrifice. Violence should not be one of them. While celebrating our six-year-anniversary, after battling through several difficult years including a global pandemic, our small gathering was ultimately tarnished by a hateful act.”
In the aftermath, businesses on 24th Street near Treat are discussing holding a public forum on the recent violence.
Related
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
It’s completely irresponsible for this publication to advocate for people to chase after a car that just fired shots into a crowd and is emblematic of the poor editorship in this newspaper. Please, for the love of god, don’t follow cars like this and advocate for a larger police presence. Don’t buy into this community involvement nonsense and protect yourself.
Thank you. We were not advocating that anyone chase after someone who has committed a crime. We were describing what people at the scene felt compelled to do.
RIP to Happy, Rigo, Dojah, Rydah, and so many others who were all killed by coward Surenos in the mission….the gang problem is coming back in force now that SF is flooded with fentanyl being pushed by South American gangs. Is anything ever going to be done about the MS13 gang problem?? It’s been over 20 years of this nonsense, SF needs to crack down heavy on them, things must change!!
The mission used to have a very bad Surenos vs Norte is gang problem in the 2000-2015 era….the Surenos controlled 16-21st and would rove mission st in large groups. They are responsible for countless shootings and homicides, like the Bologne family, to several friends who were shot and killed on or near 24th street. Growing up in SF, I’ve lost 4 friends now to gun violence, and another dozen people outside of my social circle. What is even sadder is how I met 2 guys at a funeral for my friend, and they were later killed in the mission as well. What really frustrates me is seeing democrats always preaching for more gun control when SF has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, which are constantly ignored by gangs. They will never follow gun control laws, the only people that will are the law abiding citizens who have been stripped of their right to self defense against the hordes of gangs that prowl SF. The lax DAs and politicians who push for lax enforcement of crime and the early release of violent criminals are the ones who are responsible for all of this gun violence. Criminals are more emboldened than ever and to think more gun control laws is the answer is extremely short sighted.
My friend from high school was one of the victims of this shooting, I know for a fact hes not a gang member. He comes from a good family that includes people who worked for SFMTA. Dying breed shows are usually very diverse and non threatening. Most of the recent shootings were committed by Surenos gang members, including the mass shooting earlier this year on Valencia where another good friend of mine luckily survived, but his cousin was killed. What is absolutely ridiculous is how the politicians clamor for more gun control. All of these shooters are already prohibited from owning guns, Javier campos has charges including possession of ghost guns. So how is more gun control aimed at law abiding citizens going to do anything? These criminals are more brazen because they know their victims in SF will always be unarmed. Why won’t Pelosi say anything about the Surenos and preaching for more gang task force funding to go after the criminals? You can find these gangs on almost every block downtown and in the TL, in broad daylight selling drugs every single day.
Excellent relevant follow-up. Your piece puts our community’s response to this tragic event in perfect context. This is what neighbors do… and your piece is exactly what MissionLocal does so well. Thank you
Agreed!