• An adult male surfer died at the hospital Thursday after being found face down in the water at Ocean Beach by an off-duty National Park Service lifeguard who was assisted by three on-duty lifeguards. [Chronicle]
• SoMa residents and city officials held a meeting Thursday pressing the San Francisco Police Department over the Southern station’s slow response times, which were about 55 percent slower than other districts over a recent six-month period. [Mission Local]
• Four Fremont residents were arrested in connection to the theft of over $55,000 in fiber-optic and coaxial cables at multiple locations, leading to the disruption in internet and other communications services for about 10,000 customers. [KRON4]

National:

• Three people were killed, including one child, and five others injured in a large fire stemming from an explosion in a Dallas apartment complex. Officials say there was potentially a gas leak prior to the explosion, and there could be more deaths, as only 35 to 40% of the debris had been searched so far. [ABC News]
• Jacob Daniel Baker, 36, was arrested in Hawaii Thursday on suspicion of killing three men using various means, including sharp and blunt force trauma and strangling. Baker is considered “extremely dangerous,” and the motive is unknown, though the three men all lived near each other in a large rural area on the Big Island’s east coast. [NBC News]
• A former senior CIA official was arrested after the FBI found $40 million worth of gold bars in his home, along with $2 million in cash and around 35 luxury watches. [CTV News]

Video of the Day:

• As National Bike Month comes to an end, here’s an exploration of three new bike paths on San Francisco's west side.

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

• It’s been two years since billionaire Chobani yogurt founder Hamdi Ulukaya purchased Anchor Brewing, and the venue still has yet to open with no updates provided. [Chronicle]
• Thieves crashed a car through the front doors of a Fremont coffee shop Tuesday morning — the fourth such incident in two years. [KRON4]
• Rescuers at the Lindsay Wildlife Experience in Contra Costa County have a lot of tiny animals on their hands this time of year when baby birds typically fall out of nests or baby squirrels, possums, and skunks become orphaned. [NBC Bay Area]

National:

• Trump’s plan to build a defense bubble around the US, including Alaska and Hawaii, much like Israel’s Iron Dome, would cost an estimated $175 billion. The dome would block rockets and missiles, but critics say enemies with an arsenal of nuclear weapons, such as Russia or China, would still have some ability to break through it. [New York Times]
• Longtime ICE official and former GEO Group executive David Venturella will serve as the new Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director, replacing Todd Lyons who’s leaving at the end of the month. [NBC News]
• A new survey shows that about one in four visitors to Disney parks have accumulated debt paying for their visits, averaging almost $2,000. [Boing Boing]

Video of the Day:

Meet Xylo. She helps patients feel better during their dental work at 450 Aesthetics Dental Group. The practice utilizes a whole suite of tools, which it calls its “comfort menu,” including a weighted blanket, eye mask, and augmented reality movie glasses. Xylo will even sit on visitors’ laps upon request. [SFGate]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

• A federal judge in Missouri dismissed a lawsuit filed by the sister of OpenAI’s Sam Altman, who’s nine years younger, alleging he sexually abused her as a child — due to the statute of limitations expiring in 2008. The judge did however say she could refile the claim under Missouri's Childhood Sexual Abuse statute, while also approving a counter suit from Sam Altman against his sister for defamation. [Reuters]
• Contra Costa County sheriff’s deputies took a suspect into custody in Lafayette after they found a dead body while conducting a welfare check Saturday morning. [SFGate]
• Fremont police arrested a man who allegedly rammed the car multiple times of the mother of his one-year-old son while the child was in the car. [KRON4]
• Children's entertainer Ms. Rachel recently announced she’s begun working to free children from ICE detention centers and aims to force the closure of the Dilley location in Denver, with the help of lawyers and activists. [NBC News]
• Steph Curry will be back participating in full team practices soon, as he's missed 21 consecutive Warriors games while recovering from a knee injury, and he’s scheduled for an evaluation Tuesday. [KPIX]
• Spring is here! Behold, two colorful and up-close-and-personal vignettes of Saturday’s spectacular Tulip Day at SF’s Union Square. [OnlyInSF, nanaraya_ / Instagram]

DoorDash’s longtime dream of cutting paid human beings out of the delivery process is one step closer to reality, as they’re debuting their little robots to do food deliveries, but at first only in Fremont.

Food delivery service DoorDash obviously hopes to pay its drivers as little as possible, and has always seen human drivers as a temporary unnecessary inconvenience until they can develop robots and drones to handle that job. They’re already testing the drones at a Mission District warehouse, and the robots will arrive in the Bay Area next week.  

The San Francisco Business Times reports that DoorDash will roll out its delivery robots in Fremont, with a plan to start using the little robots effective next Thursday. They have perhaps avoided using the robots in San Francisco, where lawmakers often fight technological creep, plus people might torch the little robots, or strip them and sell their parts for fentanyl money.  

The video above shows off this delivery robot called “Dot,” and we gotta say, there are many completely implausible aspects to what is shown here. Will the robots really have googly, moving eyes? Will they really say “Bye-byyyyye!” in whimsical human interactions? Will they go on highways and move as fast as cars? This video seems more entertainment value than actually instructive on how these robots will work.

But Fremont City Hall is delighted to be DoorDash’s guinea pig here.

“This collaboration reflects Fremont's leadership in advanced manufacturing and robotics innovation while reinforcing our commitment to sustainability," Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan said in a statement to the Business Times.

Fremont is apparently about to issue a permit where 30 of these robots can operate at one time, without human "chaperones."

The DoorDash robots will reportedly start rolling in Fremont on Thursday, March 5. The company already uses them in Phoenix, Arizona.

Per the Business Times, the robots will be "servicing the city's Downtown/Central, Centerville and Irvington areas,” which “includes major corridors such as Fremont Boulevard, Walnut Avenue, Mowry Avenue, Stevenson Boulevard and Paseo Padre Parkway.”

Related: DoorDash Wins Its Appeal to Test Food Delivery Drones in the Mission, and the Teamsters Aren’t Happy [SFist]

Image via DoorDash

The grass must seem greener in Fremont for ex-Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell, who quit his Oakland post in October, and now four months later is suddenly taking the job to be Fremont Chief of Police.

Back during Oakland’s Mayor Sheng Thao era, the city went more than a year without a police chief. Then they finally hired former Lubbock, Texas Police Chief Floyd Mitchell, who himself promptly lasted only 17 months on the job before resigning without explanation. So much for that year-long job search.  

But Mitchell did not ride off into the sunset, he merely rode off to Fremont. KTVU reports that Mitchell just took the job as Fremont Chief of Police, another position that’s been technically long vacant, as previous interim chief Sean Washington has been serving as interim chief for more than four years.  

Fremont spokesperson Geneva Bosques told KTVU that after a "nationwide executive search, the City has selected Mr. Floyd Mitchell to be Fremont's next Police Chief." She added that "Mr. Mitchell brings extensive experience and expertise in law enforcement to this role."

Rather amusingly, Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan seems to have learned of Mitchell’s hiring only when KTVU asked him about it. KTVU says that Sawlan “at first did not know that Mitchell had been chosen,” though explained that in Fremont, that decision falls on the City Manager.

But one can see why Mitchell might prefer the Fremont gig to Oakland. Per KTVU, both positions pay roughly the same $370,000 annual salary. And also per KTVU, Fremont “has no federal oversight, no civilian police commission that can hire or fire a chief, and a much lower crime rate.”

Related: Oakland Police Chief Resigns After 17 Months on the Job [SFist]

Image: Oakland Police Department

This week: Polynesian dance in Fremont, a new cat cafe in SF, a South Bay Batman, book clubs of the Peninsula, and California pollinators. Also, examining an ancient Greek star map using physics; supporting stroke survivors; and highlighting the unsettling parts of suburban life.

Traces in the margins

In Menlo Park, a lab built for cutting-edge physics is being used to recover something far older. Researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory are using x-ray imaging to look through layers of ancient parchment, revealing a star map that was written in ancient Greece and later scraped away.

By analyzing the chemical makeup of old inks and metals, the team can reconstruct what once sat on the page, even when nothing is visible to the eye. The work offers a rare glimpse into how early astronomers charted the sky and how fragile that record can be. — NBC Bay Area

Other hands in the garden

As gardens start to wake up for spring, it’s a good moment to notice the many quiet pollinators preparing for their busiest season, from hummingbirds and native bees to butterflies and even flies, all getting ready to carry color and life from plant to plant.

Pollination shapes about 80% of flowering plants and most food crops, from cocoa and bananas to agave, while cross-pollination keeps species resilient through genetic diversity. In California, where roughly 1,600 native bee species live, understanding these roles matters as introduced honeybees compete for resources and spread disease. — Marin Independent Journal

Rooms for whiskers and lounging

At Whiskerwood Haven in SF’s Inner Richmond, cats arrive through a network of foster homes and step into a space designed to show who they really are. The lounge lets people spend time with them, watch their temperaments unfold, and make more thoughtful matches than a quick shelter visit allows.

Whiskerwood Haven is open daily from 11 am to 7 pm. — Richmond Sunset News

Cul-de-sacs and quiet weather

Jonathan Crow paints the California suburb as a place where light, color, and unease share the same frame. Drawing from childhood memories, film training, and a life split between parenting and the art studio, his scenes hold ordinary spaces open long enough for something unsettled to surface.

Pools, gardens, and abandoned carts become stages for moods shaped by politics, memory, and the strange calm of residential life. Crow’s solo show, Cul-de-Sac, is on view at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara through May 3, with a reception on January 24. — 48 Hills

A cape in the margins

For nearly eight years, the Batman of San Jose has walked the city at night with water, food, and first-aid supplies, building trust with people living unhoused. What began as a teenager’s response to discrimination has grown into a mix of street outreach and public advocacy, including speaking at City Hall and pushing for housing-first policies.

His costume is practical as much as it is symbolic, stocked with medical gear and a cape that can double as an emergency blanket. The work now extends beyond him through Bay Area Superheroes, a small mutual-aid collective active across San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland. — KQED

Small circles, open books

Book clubs across the Peninsula are giving people simple ways to meet through libraries and independent bookstores. Some focus on graphic novels, others on short novellas, cookbooks, or quiet “silent reading” sessions.

Many are open to the public and built to feel low-pressure, whether that means shorter books, casual discussion, or just reading alongside others. Groups meet in places like Mitchell Park Library in Palo Alto, Fireside Books & More in Redwood City, Sanchez Library in Pacifica, and Feldman’s Books in Menlo Park. — Mountain View Voice

Life after stroke

After a severe stroke in 2010, Debra Meyerson had to leave her tenured Stanford job and relearn how to speak, while grappling with her sense of identity. She and her husband, Steve Zuckerman, turned that experience into Stroke Onward, a nonprofit supporting survivors beyond medical recovery.

They’ve since organized a 4,500-mile tandem bike ride, launched live storytelling through the Stroke Monologues, and created an online community connecting survivors, care partners, and medical professionals. — KPIX

Waves in motion

In a Fremont industrial park, the Hula Halau ‘O Nalua fills the room with drums, chants, and synchronized movement that pulls dancers into the rhythms of Hawaii and Tahiti. Students of all ages glide through Kahiko, hula ‘Auana, and Ote’a, connecting to ancestry, culture, and each other.

For many, hula goes beyond steps and rhythms, offering a break from the daily grind, a moment of focus, and a link across generations. The school, approaching its 50th year, also tours internationally and fosters community through ongoing performances and family involvement. — Bay Area News Group

Top image: Jonathan Crow

Previously: Field Notes: Suitcases for Foster Youth, an East Bay Roundhouse, and a Teen Artist in ‘70s-Era Berkeley

• The San Francisco Fire Department rescued a person in the frigid water at Pier 9 Saturday morning around 8:30 am, and they were treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. [KRON4]
• A 93-year-old man in Fremont turned himself in to police for fatally shooting his 86-year-old wife and provided reasoning for his motive, which hasn’t been released. [Chronicle]
• The family of Yolanda Ramirez, a 72-year-old East Bay woman who was killed in police custody in October after a dispute with her sister, has filed state and federal lawsuits demanding that the Brentwood Police Department release body cam footage of the incident. [KGO]

• A new state website called Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform launched Thursday, in which California residents can request the deletion of their personal data from over 500 data brokers that sell information such as browsing history and phone numbers. [NBC Bay Area]

• A mass recall of shredded cheese has expanded to include 1 million bags sold by major retailers, including Target, Walmart, and Aldi across 31 states and Puerto Rico. [Yahoo News]
• A car crashed into a Fremont apartment building Wednesday, displacing five adults, a child, and a cat, but no injuries were reported. [NBC Bay Area]
• San Jose police arrested a man who allegedly threw two Molotov cocktails at Henry’s World Famous Hi-Life restaurant earlier this week in a targeted arson attack. [KRON4]

• Keep an eye out for the ever delightful and festive Tree Twins around town during the holiday season; they made an appearance at Drag Queens on Ice Friday evening. [Tree Twins/Instagram]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

A Fremont man who apparently took some delight in killing a man he did not know who was listed on a sex offender website has been charged with his murder, and had a previous arrest in 2021 for hunting someone else he thought to be a pedophile.

29-year-old Varun Suresh is in custody after an arrest last Thursday in connection with a grisly, dramatic fatal stabbing incident that occurred that day in a residential neighborhood of Fremont. Suresh, a Fremont resident, is accused of stalking 71-year-old David Brimmer based on his address listing on the Megan's Law website.

Brimmer was released from prison in 2004 in connection with a 1995 conviction for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. As the Chronicle reported at the time, Brimmer was a pastor at San Jose's largest church, the 6,000-member Jubilee Christian Center, and he was convicted on 15 counts of molesting boys between the ages of 11 and 16 between 1989 and 1993, some of whom testified against him.

Brimmer lived on Solstice Court, near the 600 block of Upper Vintners Circle, and as KTVU reports, investigators say that Suresh posed as an accountant going door to door offering his services — and that he knocked on several neighbors' doors first, carrying a bag, notebook, and cup of coffee, in order to appear legitimate. When Brimmer answered the knock on his door, Suresh says he briefly spoke with Brimmer and recognized him from the website, telling authorities that he "tried to appear as non-threatening as possible."

But, Suresh says, he then dropped what he was carrying and attempted to push his way into Brimmer's home. Brimmer then fled out of the house, running down the street and attempting to flag down a vehicle for help. According to investigators, Brimmer grabbed a rock to try to defend himself as Suresh pulled out a knife and allegedly asked Brimmer if he "believes in God," telling him to "get his last words in."

Brimmer reportedly fled into an open garage and pounded on a door leading inside the home. A neighbor let him in as he yelled to call the police, but investigators say that Suresh chased Brimmer into the home, acting as though Brimmer was the "crazy one" and telling them to call the cops.

Suresh allegedly stabbed Brimmer in the neck after catching up to him in the home's kitchen, at which point a resident of them home screamed at them "do not do this in here," leading to Suresh hesitating and Brimmer running out the door.

Suresh then allegedly "cornered" Brimmer on the lawn of the home, and Brimmer collapsed on the ground, likely from blood loss. Suresh said he then knelt over Brimmer, pinning his arms to the ground, and stabbed him several more times, and Brimmer then reportedly rolled over and attempted to escape again, at which point Suresh says he slit the victim's throat.

Suresh did not seem to dispute his responsibility for the killing, and said he would have called police himself if he didn't think they were coming. Suresh later told investigators that he "didn’t feel sad at all" and that the stabbing was "honestly really fun."

According to court documents obtained by KTVU, Suresh also told investigators, "I’m hoping that because [Brimmer was] a pedophile… like, everyone hates pedophiles… so like, it should be cool. It should be cool."

This isn't the first time that Suresh apparently set out to punish a reported sex offender. Fremont police arrested Suresh in 2021 in connection with a false bomb threat at a local Hyatt Place hotel, where Suresh reportedly left a suspicious bag and made criminal threats. According to police, this was because Suresh said that the CEO of Hyatt Hotels was a pedophile and he "wanted to kill him."

This may have been in reference to Thomas Pritzker, the billionaire chairman of Hyatt, who has been named in documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein — in particular, Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre named Pritzker as one of the men she was trafficked to have sex with.

Suresh has been charged with murder, being an armed individual causing great bodily injury, and residential burglary.

• Several homes in Cupertino were flooded Friday after a water line was damaged near Scenic Boulevard around 10 am. Area residents are urged to momentarily boil their water to avoid contamination. [KGO]

• Students from Oakland’s Coliseum College Prep Academy organized a protest Friday in response to last week’s school shooting in Minneapolis. The students walked out during lunch holding signs that proclaimed: “WE DESERVE TO LIVE,” as part of a nationwide campaign by Students Demand Action [KQED]
• BART made promises in 2019 that the agency would build a backup system to prevent system-wide meltdowns such as the one that occurred Friday morning, but they have yet to follow through on it. [NBC Bay Area]
• Diplomats from Seoul, South Korea are currently in Georgia negotiating the release of around 475 South Korean nationals who were detained by ICE at a Hyundai factory; all business trips from South Korea to the US have been cancelled. [BBC]
• A drive-by shooting occurred around 11:12 pm on the 6000 block of Stevenson Boulevard in Fremont in which at least two people were hit; police are investigating. [KPIX]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

• A 27-foot boat capsized amid sudden high winds on Lake Tahoe Saturday afternoon, leaving six people dead and two still missing. The US Coast Guard said the incident occurred near D.L. Bliss State Park during a fast-moving storm with 40–45 mph winds. [CBS News]
• After Covered California was caught sending users’ sensitive health information to LinkedIn via ad trackers, investigators have discovered that four more states reportedly carried out similar practices. Health exchanges in Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island also transmitted sensitive data like prescriptions, doctor names, and dosages to tech giants like Google, Snapchat, and LinkedIn. [CalMatters]
• The city of Richmond has approved $1.5 million to launch a new initiative called the State of Black Richmond Report and a Black Resiliency Project and Fund, aiming to address longstanding racial disparities in housing, health, education, and safety. [East Bay Times]
• People have been rallying outside Southern California hotels where ICE agents are believed to be staying — including this Coachella Valley community, where more than 150 protesters gathered Wednesday night with signs, chants, and a mariachi band. [The Desert Sun]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RogueDNC (@roguednc)

• A motorcyclist who taunted a CHP officer during a high-speed chase across the Bay Bridge — popping wheelies and weaving through traffic — was arrested in Berkeley after fleeing onto rooftops with a CHP helicopter tracking overhead. [KRON4]
• Carlos Cruz Varela, 28, was arrested for indecent exposure, battery, and burglary after allegedly exposing himself to passengers and assaulting a VTA bus driver in San Jose, with community tips aiding in his identification. [NBC Bay Area]
• Fremont police are investigating the city’s first homicide of the year after a Friday night shooting left one person dead and another injured on Overacker Avenue. [KRON4]
• Updated 11:33 a.m.— A person was fatally shot Saturday in San Francisco’s Sunnydale housing project; a 32-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene with a firearm recovered. [Chronicle]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

A lawsuit is alleging that a Fremont battery company with ties to China called non-Chinese staff “foreigners,” using unauthorized Chinese workers on B-1 visas, and flying in a Chinese lawyer who's unlicensed in the US to advise on bringing in more illegal hires.

As Bay Area News Group reports, the lawsuit was filed on June 13 in Alameda County Superior Court, accusing Gotion Inc., a subsidiary of China-based Gotion High-Tech, of keeping a “revolving door” of Chinese citizens working at its lithium-ion battery plant using B-1 business visas, which do not allow employment. The lawsuit also claims that a Gotion High-Tech lawyer from China was brought to the US despite not being authorized to work or practice law here — allegedly to advise Gotion on “how to impermissibly violate US immigration laws.”

Three plaintiffs — Anirban Das, a US citizen of Indian descent, Atul Deshpande, an Indian citizen with a US work authorization, and Betuel Olivares, a Mexican citizen with a work permit — claim they were stripped of job duties and harassed after raising concerns about the violations. One plaintiff alleges a Gotion manager made racist comments toward non-Chinese workers, referring to them as “foreigners.”

According to the lawsuit, when the three plaintiffs met with Gotion management in June 2024 to discuss steps for making the Fremont facility lawful and safe, Gotion supervisor Chen Li told them two of his Chinese deputies would be taking over their work.

Li reportedly said, “It seems that it is unrealistic to expect these old Americans to solve the problem,” along with, “Don’t expect the foreigners to solve the problem because the foreigner doesn’t understand how.”

The lawsuit also alleges that the Fremont facility lacked proper permits and safety features, and that Gotion continued operations after the city posted a “do not enter” notice on the building. A photo included in the complaint, which was also included in the Bay Area News Group article, shows company brochures allegedly taped over the red closure notice.

This is not Gotion’s first US controversy. In Michigan, its $2.3 billion EV battery factory plan near Big Rapids promised over 2,000 jobs but sparked protests over environmental impact and Chinese ownership. Critics dubbed the company a “Communist Trojan horse,” and GOP figures including Donald Trump used the controversy to criticize the Biden administration’s clean energy policies. Despite efforts by Gotion’s US VP Chuck Thelen — who notably ate battery chemicals to prove safety — local opposition stalled the project. Gotion subsequently redirected efforts to a $2 billion Illinois plant with less resistance.

Gotion has not yet responded publicly to the lawsuit in Fremont.

Image via Google Maps

• A longtime San Jose police officer has been jailed without bail after allegedly firing his gun while drunk inside a Morgan Hill apartment and is facing a separate child abuse charge in Monterey County. Prosecutors say Officer Timothy Faye, 51, grabbed his fiancée’s 8-year-old daughter by the hair days before the shooting incident. [Mercury News]
• BART and other local transit agencies are pushing for a regional sales tax increase to cover mounting deficits, despite receiving billions in state and federal aid since the pandemic. Critics argue BART’s growing payroll and declining ridership reflect poor fiscal management, with employee costs up 32% since 2019 while boardings dropped 57%. [East Bay Times]
• One person was killed and another injured in a shooting Friday evening in Fremont, prompting police to shut down part of Mission Boulevard and surround a nearby home during the investigation. [NBC Bay Area]
• The NAACP threatened to sue Elon Musk’s xAI earlier this week, alleging the company’s Memphis data center is operating dozens of methane gas turbines without permits, worsening local air pollution. [Reuters]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NOTICE News (@notice.news)

• Sen. Amy Klobuchar said authorities believe suspected gunman Vance Boelter remains in the Midwest following a politically motivated shooting that killed Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark and critically injured Sen. John Hoffman and his wife. The Hortmans leave behind a son and daughter, and Hoffman's wife Yvette reportedly jumped in front of the couple’s daughter to protect her during the shooting. [MSNBC, People]
• A hit-and-run driver was apprehended by San Francisco police Saturday afternoon after allegedly striking a pedestrian near the city’s massive “No Kings” protest. While NBC News initially reported that multiple protesters may have been hit and that the act could have been intentional, SFPD has so far confirmed only one victim and described the incident as isolated. [SFGate]
• A Fremont man who vanished during what was supposed to be a two-day hike in the Himalayas has been found alive after nine days. Samuel Vengrinovich, 44, left his tent and belongings at a campsite near Dharamshala before setting out with a group of hikers he just met, unprepared for the harsh conditions. [SFGate]
• One person was killed and two others were injured in a shooting early Saturday in the East Bay’s Bay Point, with the fatal victim found in a front yard on Mendocino Drive. [Bay Area News Group]
• A small fire in the Mission District Saturday evening was sparked by a charging scooter using an aftermarket charger, with the homeowner treated for smoke inhalation after trying to move the burning device outside, according to SFFD. [KRON4]

Stay tuned for more No Kings coverage!

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

A grisly discovery at the Amtrak station in Fremont, as police found the remains of two animals Sunday that were decapitated and mutilated so badly that veterinarians cannot even identify the species of the animals.

A highly unusual incident Sunday afternoon at the Centerville train station in Fremont. At about 2:30 pm Sunday, KGO reports that police discovered the remains of decapitated animals suffed into bags on a park bench, and the animals were so badly dismembered that veterinarians still cannot identify what species they are.

“AMTRAK Police contacted Fremont Police regarding a decapitated and eviscerated animal that was reportedly left on a park bench at the Centerville Train Station,” the Fremont Police Department said in a Monday Facebook post. “Officers responded and found the body of a decapitated animal on a park bench.”

There were reportedly more bags dropped next to that bench, and another decapitated, mutilated animal was found inside that bag. A third bag was found full of animal entrails.

Police are obviously pretty perplexed by this strange situation, though they add in their statement that “At this time, no threats have been identified as being associated with the incident.”

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Fremont Animal Services at 510-790-6635 and ask to speak with Sergeant Antonio Ceniceros. You can also text an anonymous tip to ‘Tip FremontPD’ at 888-777 or via their online tip form.

Related: Two Women Arrested For Kicking Dog Amidst Neighbor Dispute In Pittsburg [SFist]

Image: Canon PowerShot SX720 HS via Wikimedia Commons