Attention, SFist commenters who eagerly debated the ethnic heritage and origins of a driver who flipped his car around to shoot a pedestrian that he nearly hit: today the San Francisco Police Department has released a sketch and description of the suspect. Here's hoping that this new information will spur not just internet bickering, but the successful apprehension of this dangerous person.

As previously reported, at 2:15 p.m. on August 31, a driver nearly struck a pedestrian as he crossed Golden Gate near Broderick. According to this morning's account from SFPD spokesperson Officer Albie Esparza, the pedestrian was in the crosswalk at the time of the near-miss, but witnesses at the time of the incident said that the pedestrian was crossing closer to the middle of the street.

In any case, Esparza says that "a verbal altercation ensued between the two parties." Witnesses confirm this, saying that the pedestrian yelled "what are you trying to do, kill me?" after he had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck.

According to Esparza, the suspect then "pulled into a driveway down the street, backed up slightly, then shot the victim with a handgun from 30 to 50 feet away. The suspect drove closer to the victim and shot the victim again before fleeing."

The victim, who was critically injured in the shooting, is recovering and expected to survive, Esparza says.

According to SFPD, the driver was in "a newer Honda Civic or Accord, two door, polished metallic gray in color." They sent along these two photos (not of the actual car) for reference:

hondas.jpg

SFPD has also provided a detailed description of the suspect, as well as the sketch you can see above. According to Esparza, the man they're seeking in the shooting is an Asian male with "dark or tanned skin" in his 20s, who speaks English with an American accent.

"He was last seen wearing a backwards baseball cap, possibly red, with a flat brim," Esparza says.

Esparza emphasizes that this man is "considered armed and dangerous," which you might have guessed from the way he gunned down a pedestrian who yelled at him.

As always, anyone with information on the shooting or the suspect is urged to contact San Francisco Police anonymously at 415-575-4444 or text-a-tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the start of the message.

Example photos of possible suspect vehicle in 8/31/2014 shooting of pedestrian: SFPD