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Hatim Mansori, the young boy who was stabbed on Muni last week is now in good condition, but is still unable to keep solid foods down. He's also afraid to leave the hospital because his assailant is still on the loose, much in part thanks to Muni's surveillance cameras being broken at the time.
Mansori was riding the 49 bus alone for the first time from baseball practice at Marina Middle School, which had finished up early, calling his concerned mother with frequent progress reports the whole way. When the bus was in the Mission, a man stabbed the boy unprovoked and quickly fled the bus at 19th and Mission Streets. The boy was rushed to General Hospital and underwent surgery for a stab wound to his liver and stomach. Doctors said that Mansori would have bled to death if he had gotten there five minutes later.
The suspect is described as "a 'scruffy-looking' African American, in his mid-20s to 30s, 6 feet 2 and 190 pounds, with dark facial hair. He was wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans and dark shoes, and was described as having a strong body odor."
Naturally, Mansori's mother will never let him, or his siblings, ride the bus alone again. She also worries how she'll support her family, as she was laid off in June and her unemployment insurance ran out last month. Mayor Newsom visited the boy on Friday, and his office is in the process of setting up an account to help the family. Anyone wishing to contribute can call (415) 554-6654. How about getting those cameras fixed, while you're at it, Newsom?
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The mother is an idiot. He needs to get back on the bus instead of fearing this one particular type of random craziness for the rest of his life.
Also, get rid of the "frequent progress reports."
I’m not a Muni apologist, far from it. But what is repeatedly overlooked about this story is that this was just as likely to happen on the street as it was on the bus. Possibly more so. This is what happens when you have a mentally ill man with a knife circulating amongst the general public. I’ve read about other attacks, not recently, involving knife attacks and mentally ill men in this city, although it is the first I’ve read about on Muni.
The argument could also be made that his mother being present, either on the bus or on the street or in any public place, would have made no difference. Most of us prepare ourselves for things we can imagine happening or think will probably happen, and having a random man commit a random act of violence is just not something we are prepared for. Even if we add police to every Muni bus and train, we can still be stabbed as we get on or off, or in any public place. We’ll clearly never be able to totally prevent this type of incident, but any potential reduction must come from a more general approach, including doing more for this city’s mentally ill.
"Even if we add police to every Muni bus and train, we can still be stabbed as we get on or off, or in any public place." But the presence of the police decreases the possibility of an attack like this, definitely decreases the potential for someone dying from an attack like this, and increases the chance of the perpetrator being caught.
"...including doing more for this city’s mentally ill." Wait a second, how much per year are we and have we been spending on the homeless and mentally ill in this city (yes, yes, I realize these are two separate groups, but they are often in the same funding pool for public services)? Of course when we want to force these people we believe might be dangerous into services to get them help, all of you people cry foul, that we're "criminalizing poverty" and so forth. And then a little boy gets stabbed, is afraid to come out of the hospital because his attacker is still out there, and your response is "Well, it could happen anywhere."
Holy crap.
Overreaction. How many random stabbings have there been lately? Do you think someone crazy enough to stab an 11-year-old on a public bus is somehow not going to have those defining characteristics when a cop is around? The kid received treatment in time to survive (and hopefully will come out of this with nothing more than some psychological trauma and impending mother issues to work through), so I'd say the system actually worked pretty well in the reactive sense.
"It could happen anywhere" is a much more useful response than knee-jerk reactions to a specific incident of sociopathic behavior. You need to be able to deal with the unexpected, which means knowing how to be generally safe and understanding the best way to react in every situation, not piling on more security theater. Otherwise, any corner where the man isn't actively watching is going to be even more hazardous to your health.
“Overreaction. How many random stabbings have there been lately?”
This one stands out in my mind.
15 year old girl stabbed in the head, wrist, leg, back and neck, has partially lost the use of her right arm.
You go tell her that we’re all overreacting.
***
SAN FRANCISCO
Stabbed girl's family sues over parole gaffe
Clerical errors led to attacker's release, says suit against state
Friday, March 28, 2008
The family of a teenage girl who was stabbed and nearly killed last year by a high-security inmate wrongly paroled from San Quentin State Prison has sued the state.
The suit claims Scott Thomas, who was suffering from bipolar disorder, was never treated during his months in solitary confinement in San Quentin. After he was released without supervision on May 18, 2007, Thomas randomly stabbed Loren Schaller, now 16, and 60-year-old Kermit Kubitz at a bakery near Miraloma Park.
Thomas, 26, who was sent to prison nine times for nonviolent crimes between 2000 and 2007, has been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial and is incarcerated at Atascadero State Hospital.
"It's quite clear that there were numerous errors made by the state; they never contacted us to make it right," said attorney Andrew Schwartz of Walnut Creek law firm Casper, Meadows, Schwartz & Cook, who filed the claim. "I hope that the state takes the high road and tries to resolve the case."
The suit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages. It names the state; James Tilton, secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and Robert Ayers, the warden of San Quentin.
The suit says a series of clerical mistakes led to the prison's release of Thomas, who was supposed to be in the custody of his parole officer, and alleges that officials failed to train employees to identify and treat mentally ill inmates.
Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said Thursday that the department had not been served with the suit and would not comment further. The agency has previously said San Quentin has improved its procedures for "identifying, screening and precessing newly arrived inmates who have had a previous level of care."
On the evening of May 18, Thomas was taken from San Quentin to the San Rafael Transit Center, where he bought a bus ticket to San Francisco. The next day, Thomas found his way to Creighton's American Bakery, where he attacked Loren Schaller with a hunting knife.
Loren Schaller, who was stabbed in the head, wrist, leg, back and neck, has partially lost the use of her right arm and undergone numerous surgeries. Kubitz, who also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, came to her rescue and was repeatedly stabbed in the chest.
“How many random stabbings have there been lately?”
And here’s a 2nd one from recent memory that stands out.
Also, keep in mind that whenever children, or in this case a young woman, are stabbed by a SF psycho it tends to make headlines.
Whenever your average guy gets stabbed by the same SF psycho out on parole it gets buried in the police blotters.
***
Arrest Made In SF Sunset District Stabbing
Nov 21, 2007
A 23-year-old suspect was taken into custody early Wednesday morning on multiple charges in connection with a stabbing that took place in the Sunset District, San Francisco police said.
A 26-year-old San Francisco woman told police that she was at a 7-Eleven store on 46th Avenue at Judah Street when she believes she was followed to her home.
When she reached the front of her home, 23-year-old Robert Hancock allegedly approached her. The two were involved in a verbal exchange when the suspect reportedly pulled out a knife and stabbed her multiple times, said Sgt. Steve Mannina.
The woman, who was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, told police she doesn't know why the suspect stabbed her.
A witness reported the incident and a description of the suspect to police today at around 1:30 a.m. Units searching the area around the Taraval police station spotted the suspect nearby.
Hancock allegedly ran from one officer but was taken into custody by another officer at approximately 1:51 a.m. Hancock is being held on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, stalking, possession of drug paraphernalia, probation violation and resisting arrest, said Mannina.
Ah, so we just need a cop in every bakery and 7-Eleven. Or is the lesson that we shouldn't allow our kids be at the bakery by themselves?
According to the FBI's 2008 Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report for Offenses Reported to Law Enforcement by State by City 100,000 and over in population (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/08aprelim/table_4.html), of the 263 cities in the report with valid data for the number of violent crimes and population, 79 cities ranked worse, and 183 ranked better than San Francisco.
San Francisco came in 80th with 8.45 violent crimes per 1000 people.
Worst:
Jacksonville, FL 9.99/1000
Sacramento, CA 9.98/1000
Syracuse, NY 9.88/1000
Miami Gradens, FL 9.86/1000
Las Vegas, NV 9.85
Best:
Irvine, CA 0.61/1000
Murrieta, CA 0.84/1000
Cary, NC 1.08/1000
Gilbert, AZ 1.08/1000
Surprise,AZ 1.14/1000
If we're going to have a discussion about crime let's use real data and not newspaper stories.
1. So, you want police on every Muni bus and train? Because that appears to be the point you're trying to make.
2. I said "any potential reduction must come from a more general approach, including doing more for this city’s mentally ill." I said do more, not spend more. There is a difference.
3. "all of you people cry foul, that we're 'criminalizing poverty' and so forth" Nice overgeneralization. I've never said that.
4. "And then a little boy gets stabbed, is afraid to come out of the hospital because his attacker is still out there, and your response is 'Well, it could happen anywhere.'" That isn't what I said, but let's go with that. Can't it happen anywhere?
While it is true that crazy people aren't any more likely to do their stabbing on the bus than off, would the mother have let this kid wander by himself on foot through the parts of the neighborhood where stabby bums are most likely to hang out?