Members of a SWAT team converged on a duplex at 2907 Folsom Street on Saturday afternoon expecting to find an armed suspect, but instead found the place empty and later apprehended the suspect in a nearby backyard on Treat Avenue, according to police.
The suspect had allegedly assaulted his sister on Friday evening, according to police.
The arrest followed a more than four-hour standoff that began when at least three witnesses told police they had seen an armed man enter the building, sometime after a woman had been assaulted nearby, police said.
Police first said the assault took place at 12:07 p.m. on Saturday, and reported that the victim was treated at San Francisco General Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
The victim told police that the suspect had a weapon, and another witness allegedly saw the suspect run into the residence on Folsom near 25th Street, carrying what the witness believed was a weapon.
A crisis intervention team then set up a process to negotiate with the suspect, said Sgt. Mike Andraychak.
Andraychak reported that as the afternoon unfolded, “Police were told that the suspect had allegedly punched the victim the night before [Friday, August 5], while at the residence on the 1300 block of Treat.”
“Officers later located a replica/BB gun at the location on the 1300 block of Treat. This weapon is believed to be the same weapon the suspect brandished in the earlier incident,” Andraychak reported.
It’s unclear if there was a second assault on Saturday before the standoff between the suspect and police, or if police were simply informed that the suspect was at the address on Folsom.
As the scene unfolded on Folsom Street on Saturday afternoon, a mother with her children said police had pulled two women out of the building. A member of the technical team said that police were taking their time, trying to make sure that all of the children living at the residence were out.
- The armored police vehicle parked on Treat Avenue.
A special black police van parked on Treat Avenue seemed to be the center of operations for the police. From at least 12:30 to 3:45 p.m., streets from Shotwell to Folsom were blocked off from 25th Street to 26th Street.
Police reported that they tried to make contact with the suspect inside and moved in when that failed, only to find the place empty. “The suspect was seen hiding in the rear yard of a neighboring residence on the 2900 block of Treat Street and he was taken into custody,” police reported.
The suspect has not yet been booked, police said.
“It’s weird,” said one witness during the supposed standoff. “Kids are still playing at Garfield Park across the street.”
We will update as we get more information.