A man was fatally shot at the Gas & Shop gas station on the corner of South Van Ness Avenue and 17th Street around midnight on Jan. 1. It was San Francisco’s first homicide of the new year.
A 29-year-old man, Jose Rivera Flores, was arrested and booked into San Francisco County Jail on murder charges on the same day.
Minutes before the shooting, Rivera Flores, the suspect, paid for gas at one of the gas pumps but had issues with the pumps. He walked into the shop, upset, and “talked bad” to a female employee, who was one of three people working that shift, said the manager, Jose Guillen.
The victim, who was also at the shop, told Rivera Flores that “it was not the right way to talk to a lady.” Afterwards, Rivera Flores walked out of the store first, followed by the victim, trying to talk to him. Then Rivera Flores pulled up the gun and fired, the manager said.
“I’ve never seen nothing like that,” said Guillen, manager at the gas station for 31 years, who reviewed the security camera footage. “The guy fell down, and he continued shooting him.”
It was unclear how many shots the suspect fired, but on Thursday, 13 yellow circles remained on the ground, marked by the San Francisco Police Department, indicating where bullet shells fell.
Rivera Flores’ brother, who was in the same car, stayed behind when the suspect fled, and called the police, Guillen said.
When officers arrived, they saw an adult man “laying on the ground, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds,” according to the police department. Officers and paramedics rendered aid, but the man was declared dead at the scene.
While conducting their investigation, “officers learned that the suspect fled from the scene in an SUV after the shooting occurred,” the department said. Police found the SUV just outside city borders, near Bayshore Boulevard and Geneva Avenue.
“The suspect was removed from the vehicle and subsequently taken into custody without further incident,” the department said.
Although an arrest has been made, this is an open and active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SFPD at 1-415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.
If he didn’t have a gun, this would probably have been a fight with nonfatal injuries. Still stupid, still senseless, but they would both be alive. Guns are the biggest problem here. Horrifying. My condolences to the family and friends of the victim.
What if he had a knife in his car and stabbed him to death? Or a rope, and choked him to death? The extreme rage of a psychotic is the issue, not “guns.”
It is hard to comprehend that type of behavior; ending someone life on such a trivial issue. I am a long-time resident in the Mission ; you don’t need a criminal mind to spot all the troublemakers and deplorables in the hood. They congregate here for the 4th of July, anytime there is a sport event involving a SF team, they come, burn stuff to celebrate, fight, etc.. the organ donor’s bikers who make fun of the cops every day, most of those people are coming from outside the city.. we got guns, sideshows, the highest number for arrests for D.U.I in the city during holidays, etc.. this new generation is messed up. Who should we blame? parents? schools? education system? social media companies? gun manufacturers? Capitalism ? all the above? failure everywhere you look. But please shut down the police station on 17th st, they are useless.
On another note, please check Judge Bruce.E,Chan, another typical SF judge, search online what he did this week, who he released on our streets…Christmas 2025 in advance for a notorious criminal., coming again to your neighborhood..Not a fun of recall but this guy needs to go fishing.
It’s Dan Noyes who needs to be recalled for putting out sensationalist garbage and pretending it’s newsworthy.
Judge Bruce Chan is an incredible, well-respected member of the judiciary and doesn’t deserve to be spoken of in this manner. SF is lucky to have him on the bench.
you will have a different opinion when the criminal he released on our street come to your neighborhood. If he was, according to you, a well-respected judge in the city yesterday, today he just hit rock bottom.