After the murder of DJ and queer activist Bubbles—AKA Anthony Torres—this past weekend, many Tenderloin residents say they are grieving, fearful, and weary.
At the corner of Myrtle and Larkin streets, friends and neighbors created a makeshift memorial near where he was killed.
Dozens of elaborate bouquets, empty champagne bottles and candles mark the spot, along with drawings and photos left to honor a person one mourner described as “a true SF original.”
“Dang, what do we gotta do to make this stop?” asked a passerby who looked at a photo that was posted with other notes of notes of love and endearment, one of which read, “I’ll see you on the other side.”
Torres was killed on Saturday morning around 2:50am; according to police, his assailant exited the New Century Theater at 816 Larkin Street, crossed the street to where Bubbles was playing music, and started an argument before the shooting occurred. As of this writing, the shooter has not been identified.
Mohsen Abouraga, who owns Alma’s Cigarettes across the street, said the incident was “the fastest shooting I’ve ever heard,” but not the first.
“This happens maybe three times a year,” said Abouraga, who was working on Saturday night. “I’ve been here for eight years now, I know. It’s tiring.”
After shots rang out, “people were running into my store, that’s when I knew it was real,” he added. “It sounded like fireworks, six shots in like two seconds, it was so fast.”
A woman who lives nearby said that when Bubbles DJ'd on the sidewalk, “the community would become one,” noting that last week, she and Torres made cotton candy together on the corner and danced on the sidewalk.
Although San Francisco was Torres’ home, “Bubbles was getting ready to move to Berlin” to follow their dreams and start a new chapter, she said.
The neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, said the fatal shooting was “like, the fifth hate crime in six weeks—it’s terrible, people are dying everywhere.” She pointed to the sidewalk, where someone spray-painted Bubbles’ name with a heart.
“Look, you can still see the bleach stains where they cleaned up the blood.”
As we spoke, another woman who introduced herself as “Queen” approached, hugged us both, and said, “let me tell you something, get in here real close: we’re going to find him, we’ll be okay.”
Queen said she didn’t know Bubbles that well, and just called him "Baby." “Whenever I saw Baby, I would tell my dog to go give Baby a kiss. I miss them.”
Anyone who has information about this incident is encouraged to contact SFPD via the department's anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444, or text TIP411 with "SFPD" at the start of the message.
