Police report three stabbings, six robberies and four hot-prowl burglaries occurred during the holidays, along with one minor arson case.
Stabbings
Just before midnight on Thursday, Dec. 24, a 36-year-old man was arguing with a 40-year-old man at an apartment on Mission Street between 19th and 20th streets when the older man pulled out a knife and stabbed the other in the abdomen. The suspect fled to another apartment, but was taken into custody by police. The victim was transported to the hospital with a non-life-threatening puncture wound on his abdomen.
At 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 27, a 51-year-old man met a group of four or five men estimated to be between the ages of 18 and 25. The younger men invited the older to smoke marijuana with them, leading him in to an alley. There, they began to attack the man, eventually stabbing him in the arm with a knife. The victim was treated at a nearby hospital but told police he was drunk and didn’t know how he had gotten there. No arrest was made.
A woman working at a church on South Van Ness Avenue near 18th Street told a man who entered the church around 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday looking for a bathroom key that she didn’t have one. Having turned away, the woman felt a poke in the buttocks before the man left the church. Five minutes later, the victim realized she had been stabbed and found her way to a local hospital for treatment of a puncture wound.
Robberies
On Monday Dec. 21 at 2 p.m., a 44-year-old woman and a 70-year-old woman parked on Fair Oaks Street to visit friends. The 44-year-old waited in the car while the 70-year-old went into a house when two men in their 30s walked by the car. The 44-year-old in the car became suspicious and locked the doors, after which one of the male suspects came back to the car and broke the passenger side window where the victim was sitting.
He put a knife to her chest and reached into the car, taking a purse and searching the glove box. The 70-year-old victim, exiting the house where she had been with her friends, saw the scene and started yelling. The second suspect began to yell at the 70-year-old and threatened her with a knife, shortly after which both suspects fled. They took with them a smartphone, a purse, a GPS device, a wallet, and cash. The police have made no arrests.
A 60-year-old man was walking near Valencia and 14th streets on Wednesday, Dec. 23 at 6 a.m. when he was struck behind by an unknown object wielded by one of three men in their late 20s. The victim dropped his phone, which one of the victims then picked up as the trio fled on foot. No arrest was made, and the victim was transported to the hospital in non-life-threatening condition.
At 9 p.m. that night, a 26-year-old woman met another woman in her 30s on Sycamore Street and walked with her to an apartment. The younger woman entered the apartment, where a man in his 40s pulled out a pocket knife and brandished it at the younger woman. He told her to give him her cell phone and debit card and demanded the victim’s PIN number. The older woman and the man left together and fled the scene. No arrest was made.
On Friday, Dec. 25, a 31-year-old man was sitting on a bench at Church and 20th Streets when two men approached him. The men punched the victim in the face, took his backpack and cell phone, and then fled the scene. The victim was treated for a laceration on his cheek at the scene and released, and no arrests were made.
At 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 26, at 15th and Mission streets, three men and a woman took the cell phone from a 30-year-old man’s back pocket. The man confronted the woman, and was then assaulted by the three men. When police arrived, the victim refused medical attention for a scratch on his face. No arrests were made.
Several hours later, just after 11 p.m., a 34-year-old man riding a bus that stopped at 24th and Mission streets was approached by five men in their 20s. The men grabbed the victim’s wallet and gold necklace before exiting the bus and fleeing on foot. The victim was uninjured, and no arrest was made.
Four Burglaries
At 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 23, a 25-year-old man returned to his home on Folsom Street between 22nd and 23rd streets, where his family was sleeping. Inside, he found two burglars, men in 30s, one of them charging his phone. The victim called the police, but the suspects escaped, fleeing on foot.
Between the hours of 12:30 and 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, an unknown suspect stole two bicycles, a pair of skis, and some ski boots from the home of a 42-year-old man’s home on Church Street near Market Street. The victim woke up to find his front door wide open and damaged, apparently by the burglar.
The same day, a 35-year-old man woke to find his apartment on Hidalgo Terrace had been burglarized, though there were no signs of forced entry. A third burglary, having occurred sometime between 2:30 and 10:30 a.m., also on Sunday, was discovered by a resident of Mission Street between 24th and 25th streets who woke to find her purse, keys, driver’s license, and MP3 player missing.
Arson
On Saturday, Dec. 26, at around 5 a.m., police found a paper bag attached to the front door of a business on 24th Street between Mission and Valencia streets. The bag had been set on fire, causing minor damage to the front door. No one was injured, and no arrest was made.
Crime is trauma and the county offers different services. Here is a link to a page of services.
Victims of violent crime can also contact the Trauma Recovery Center at UCSF.