An early morning call to San Francisco police on Sunday ended with a Safeway employee injured and a Sacramento County man behind bars. The assault took place at the Ocean Beach Safeway located on La Playa Street, as reported by ABC7 News; it occurred when the suspect, later identified as 28-year-old Kwontell Summerfield, attacked a female employee, knocking her down and dragging her by her hair.
As per ABC7 News, community members described the scene where the man began pummeling the victim with punches after she was on the ground. Summerfield's apprehension was facilitated by the coordination between local police and the U.S. Park Police, who spotted a suspect matching the assailant's description. Despite his listed residence being in Carmichael, it was unclear when Summerfield last resided there.
The response to the assault was quick, with local authorities arriving on scene at approximately 5:38 a.m. They found the Safeway employee injured, and paramedics subsequently transported her to receive medical care for non-life-threatening injuries. Following the incident, Safeway remained tight-lipped, providing a statement that read, "We are sending our thoughts to the associate involved in the incident" and stated they were fully cooperating with law enforcement but advised to contact SFPD for more information regarding the case and the condition of their employee, per ABC7 News.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Summerfield has been charged with aggravated assault and robbery and is currently being held at the San Francisco County Jail. His criminal history, as per court records, includes a series of past offenses, though the motive behind this recent violent act remains unknown. The investigation into this brutal attack on a store employee is still ongoing.