FILE: A defocused police car sits behind crime scene tape with flashing lights at night.
Ajax9/Getty Images/iStockphotoFour people were violently attacked near Union Square in San Francisco on Sunday morning, all in less than an hour, the San Francisco Police Department confirmed.
The alleged attacks occurred on Market Street and included one assault and three stabbings, all allegedly carried out by the same suspect, the police said in a Wednesday news release.
Just after 7:30 a.m., police located an older adult male on the 800 block of Market Street whose face was bleeding from an apparent unprovoked attack. Witnesses told police that the man was in a wheelchair when he was attacked by an unknown person who subsequently fled the scene. A witness also stepped in and tried to help the man during the attack, SFPD said.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The man was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Shortly after, police arrived at 8 a.m. near Market and Battery streets after receiving a report of a stabbing. A man said he had been stabbed by someone with an unknown object before the person fled on Market Street. According to SFPD, the man was the first person attacked by the suspect, but he waited until he was at a safe place to call the police.
Police then responded to the 800 block of Market Street at 8:05 a.m. for another stabbing, SFPD said. The same suspect allegedly had gone up to a man and stabbed him as he was standing on the street. The man was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The fourth attack occurred around 8:10 a.m. on the 900 block of Market Street as the suspect allegedly tried to rob a man. The man was stabbed as the suspect tried to steal from him, SFPD said. The man was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Officers on the scene found the suspect as he was walking away with a “fixed blade-edged weapon” and were able to take him into custody, according to the release.
The suspect was arrested and booked into San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of three stabbings and aggravated assault, police said.
SFPD said the attacks are an ongoing investigation and anyone with information should contact the department at 415-575-4444.