FiDi & North Beach Crime: Armed Robbery, Pedestrian Collision, Assault With Pole, MorePhoto: Aurimas/Flickr
Nathan Falstreau
Published on November 21, 2017

Time for another look at crime in SFPD's Central District, which includes Chinatown, Financial District, Embarcadero, Russian, Telegraph and Nob Hills, North Beach, and Union Square.

Here are some of the incidents that have taken place since our last biweekly report. Unless otherwise noted, all reports are drawn from SFPD's summary.

North Point and Powell. | Photo: Google

Pedestrian receives life-threatinging injuries in collision

A 68-year-old woman sustained life-threatening injuries in a traffic collision on November 15th at 1:02pm near the corner of North Point and Powell Streets in North Beach. 

Here's our full report of the incident.

Cell phone robber punches victim after chase

On November 19th at 7pm on the 100 block of O'Farrell Street near Union Square, a robbery occurred. 

A 29-year-old man was looking at his phone when a male suspect in his early thirties snatched it and ran away with another suspect of similar age. The victim gave chase and demanded his phone back. One of the suspects then punched the victim in the chin and both fled the scene on foot. 

The victim sustained minor injuries and was transported to a hospital for treatment. 

Suspect lights building on fire, shatters window

At 4am on the 1500 block of California Street in Lower Nob Hill, an unknown male suspect lit a fire at an area business. 

Police reported that after the fire caused a window to shatter, the suspect fled in an unknown direction. 

Guitar player robbed of his instrument while walking

On November 16th at 2:40am on the 600 block of Market Street in the FiDi, a robbery occurred. 

A 59-year-old man carrying a guitar was approached by two male suspects in their 20s when one of them began to punch him, causing him to fall on the ground. One of the suspects took the guitar and then fled on foot northbound on Market Street. 

The victim was transported to an area hospital suffering from non-life-threatening injuries. 

Argument escalates into pole-poking attack

An assault occurred near Green Street and the Embarcadero on November 12th at 3:18am in the Embarcadero. 

A 67-year-old man was having an argument with an unknown man when the  suspect located a pole and poked him several times with it, causing injury. 

The victim was transported to a hospital for treatment and sustained non-life-threatening injuries. No arrests have been made. 

Three suspects attempt to snatch woman's purse

At 6:45pm on November 11th on the 100 block of O'Farrell Street near Union Square, a robbery occurred. 

A 36-year-old woman was in the vicinity when a male suspect aged 18 to 25 snatched her purse and attempted to flee. The victim gave chase and the suspect dropped her purse.

Two other male suspects in their early 20s swooped in and stole the victim's cell phone, which had fallen to the ground. All three suspects then fled on foot eastbound on O'Farrell Street. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Man sent to hospital after being assaulted with wine bottle

Another assault occurred just before 11pm on November 11th near the corner of Stockton and Post Streets near Union Square. 

A 37-year-old man told police that a man in his twenties "was being disrespectful to members of [his] party," and they got into an argument. The suspect then threw an empty wine bottle at the victim, causing injury. The suspect then fled southbound on Stockton Street. 

The victim was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 

Woman assaulted by five suspects in attempted robbery

An attempted robbery that turned into an assault occurred on the 900 block of Post Street in Lower Nob Hill on November 7th just before 10pm. 

A 29-year-old woman encountered a woman in her 20s who proceeded to pepper-spray her. The victim then ran into four male suspects in their mid-to-late 20s who kicked and punched her. A 42-year-old man nearby attempted to intervene and was also assaulted. The five suspects then fled the scene and no arrests have been made. 

Both victims were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 

Three suspects rob building residents at gunpoint

On November 6th at 5:06pm on the unit block of Spofford Street in Chinatown, a robbery at gunpoint occurred. 

Three male suspects in their 20s walked into a building and held up the occupants with a gun. The suspects then fled the scene in an unknown direction. 

According to police reports, it's not clear if the victims handed any items over to the suspects during the incident. A victim who officers spoke interviewed declined hospital treatment and refused to provide additional information. 

Police arrest suspect after hearing gunshots

On the 300 block of Broadway in North Beach at 1:13am, police reported shots fired. 

Officers were in the vicinity investigating an auto theft when they heard gunshots coming from a nearby building. They were able to locate where the shots came from, including a suspect, and took him into custody. 

No injuries were reported. 

Man wounded by gunfire while standing outside

A shooting occurred at 2:20am on the 600 block of Francisco Street in North Beach near the Mason Street cable car turnaround. 

Officers responded to the scene and found a 25-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound who said he was shot while standing outside. 

The victim was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No suspect information was available at the time of the incident. 

Here’s why we usually don’t include suspect descriptions in crime reports.

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