California Street was blocked off near the Nob Hill Trader Joe’s for several hours Monday after residents reported seeing a man driving a purple Ferrari allegedly brandishing a gun who then barricaded himself in a nearby building before being taken into custody hours later.

On Monday afternoon, two separate alerts went out about an hour apart through the Citizen app, as well as AlertSF, telling residents to avoid the area of California and Larkin streets in Nob Hill. (AlertSF’s first notification said to avoid California and Franklin streets, but the incident took place near Larkin.)

The first alert was for a police report at 2:52 pm of a man driving a purple Ferrari allegedly flashing a gun. According to the second alert at 4:14 pm, the same man, who police said may still be armed, barricaded himself inside a nearby apartment building. As KRON4 reports, both alerts were for the same suspect.

Armed Suspect Arrested After Barricaded Standoff With Police @CitizenApp

1462 California St 4:14:08 PM PDT

Specialized units were called in, and police worked to end the standoff peacefully, according to updates on Citizen. At 7:37 pm, the suspect was safely taken into custody, and at 8:34 pm, AlertSF sent a notification that the scene had been cleared and the issue resolved.

According to Redditors, the suspect is well known in the neighborhood due to his pet duck and chihuahua who go everywhere with him. He’s allegedly been going through a mental health crisis in recent months, and friends have been trying to help him get support. One Redditor said the suspect appeared to be having a psychotic break exacerbated by the use of Google Gemini, based on his recent Facebook posts. On Sunday night, he allegedly made terroristic threats.

During the incident, a neighbor of the suspect said he was in his garage with “lots and lots of weapons.”

The suspect’s landlord reportedly said police sprayed the building with tear gas to get the suspect out in the end, as neighbors were seen leaving with N95 masks.

It wasn’t clear where the suspect’s pets were taken during the incident, as they were reportedly no longer in the building.

Image: Citizen app

Previously: Man Arrested Following Hours-Long Police Standoff After Barricading Himself Inside Palace Hotel

A San Francisco resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of attempted murder after allegedly firing gunshots at a mail carrier during a delivery, according to prosecutors.

The suspect, Vo Nguyen, made his initial appearance in federal court on Friday, as confirmed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in a statement.

Prosecutors detailed the incident, stating that on April 1, Nguyen fired at least 15 shots at a mail carrier who was attempting to deliver mail to a woman outside his residence, according to KTVU’s reporting. KTVU’s Henry Lee reported that the woman was Nguyen’s sister, and Nyguen continued to shoot at the carrier even after his sister told him that the carrier was “federal.”

As KRON4 reported at the time, that Saturday, around 10 a.m., Nguyen, 38, emerged from his house on Sparta Street in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood yelling at the postal officer.

In an attempt to escape the confrontation, the mail carrier reportedly fled down the street, but Nguyen allegedly pursued him, according to KTVU. The mail carrier reportedly resorted to using pepper spray against Nguyen, who then got into a Toyota Land Cruiser and located the carrier on a nearby street. Nguyen then allegedly fired seven to eight shots at the carrier, and as the carrier tried to flee, five more shots were fired.

Prosecutors say that Nguyen continued to pursue the carrier, who sought refuge behind a parked SUV in a driveway nearby, firing three additional shots until he apparently ran out of ammunition, according to prosecutors.

The gun that Nguyen had used was also allegedly stolen, according to KRON4.

Nguyen now reportedly faces charges that include assault on a federal employee with a deadly weapon, attempted murder of a federal employee, and using a firearm in a crime of violence. The assault and attempted murder charges could bring a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and the firearm charge also carries a penalty ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment.

Feature image via Unsplash/Joel Moysuh.

There are at least 55 victims on the San Francisco Police Department's list of homicides for the year, officials say, following a fatal shooting Friday evening.

Police were called to the 4900 block of Third Street, which is between Palou and Quesada Avenues, at 8:24 p.m. Friday night, on reports of a shooting. When they arrived, they discovered a 35-year-old man suffering from at least one gunshot wound.

Though he was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival, according to the SFPD. According to the San Francisco Medical Examiner's office, the victim has been identified as SF resident Terrence Briggs.

Police say that the suspect is "unknown," and say that the circumstances of the slaying are still under investigation. They confirm that no arrests have been made in the case, which is currently San Francisco's 55th homicide for the year, following two slayings the day prior. As a point of comparison, there were 52 total homicides in SF at the end of 2015, 45 homicides in 2014, 48 in 2013, 68 in 2012, and 50 in 2011.

Previously: Man And Woman Dead In Separate San Francisco Slayings Thursday

A woman was shot to death in the Mission District Wednesday morning, in San Francsico's 51st homicide for 2016.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the slaying was reported at 2:47 this morning, on the 800 block of South Van Ness Avenue, which is between 19th and 20th Streets.

Police say that an unknown male suspect in a black vehicle shot the 21-year-old female victim with a handgun, then fled. The victim was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. As of publication time, the San Francisco Medical Examiner's office had not publicly identified her.

The suspect remains at large as of Wednesday morning, according to the SFPD, and no arrests have been made in what appears to be San Francsico's 51st homicide for 2016, following the fatal shooting of 27-year-old San Francisco resident Jermaine Jackson in the Mission District last week. In comparison, there were 52 total homicides in SF at the end of 2015, 45 homicides in 2014, 48 in 2013, 68 in 2012, and 50 in 2011.

San Francisco's AMC Metreon 16 was evacuated Tuesday night, after witnesses say a man with a gun began yelling during a screening of the movie Allied.

According to San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Grace Gatpandan, at around 7:55 Tuesday night, emergency dispatchers received calls "about a person inside the Metreon Theater (4th/Mission Streets) possibly armed with a handgun."

The Chron spoke with a witness identified only as "Gary" who said that the male suspect "was yelling and behaving erratically just as the previews wrapped up." When Gary returned to the theater after seeking a manager to quiet the man down, "people were screaming and running out of the theater," saying that the man had a gun.

"Witness Jeff Wincek said he saw the glint of a gun barrel and that 'it was definitely a pistol' that the man was waving," the Chron reports.

Gatpandan says that following the 911 call, "officers from multiple districts responded to the area, ordering the evacuation of the theater in an abundance of caution."

"One subject was located and detained, with a handgun also located at the scene," she says. According to KTVU, however, "It ended up being a replica gun." (An attempt by SFist to confirm that detail with SFPD was unsuccessful as of publication time.) "Even though the gun is a replica," KTVU reports, "the suspect could be charged with felonies depending on the circumstances."

According to KTVU, "The suspect appeared to be an Asian man in his 60s." Saying that "Information on suspects is provided only if they are arrested and booked," Gatpandan declined to provide the identity of the man detained in the incident, and said that more information would be released later today.

Market Street's troubled Westfield Centre narrowly missed another blow to its reputation Sunday, when mall security guards reportedly thwarted a possible armed robbery by a gang of, I kid you not, men carrying "creepy clown" masks.

As you of course know as a citizen of the internet, the national creepy clown phenomena has hit the Bay Area big time, with one threatening to visit a Fairfield school, a Concord woman alleging an abduction attempt at their hands, and a robocall from the San Francisco United School District encouraging parents to discuss this trend with their kids.

And in the latest bit of SF clown news, three men carrying clown masks characterized by San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Carlos Manfredi as "very scary" were spotted in a stairwell at Westfield Centre by guards on patrol.

KRON 4 reports that the creepiness went down at 3:15 Sunday, when the guards "saw three suspects, two clown masks that they were holding, and one of the three brandished a gun," Manfredi tells the Ex.

The men, who were huddled in one of the mall's emergency stairwells, fled through the mall's Powell and Market exit when they spotted the guards, Manfredi says.

KRON 4 reports that "According to police, they believed that the suspects were getting ready to commit a robbery inside the mall," which would have been the latest in a recent string of violent incidents at Westfield Centre. On August 10, the body of local chef Frank Galicia was found in a mall stairwell, a death police eventually classified as "suspicious." That incident has been followed by several brutal muggings, including a school supply shakedown and the theft of multiple laptops from mall patrons.

But in this case, at least, trouble was averted — and the SFPD is watching, with Manfredi telling the Ex that even though by the time police were called the suspects were “already gone...anytime there is a call with a person with a gun, you get every single unit available in that district.”

For their part, Westfield remains tight-lipped on the incident, saying Sunday that "There has been no incident at the center today but earlier this afternoon security officers observed suspicious activity that was reported to the San Francisco Police Department.”

As of Monday morning, the mask-bearing gunmen remain at large, according to the SFPD.

Related: SF School District Robo Dials Parents To Address 'Clown Rumors'
Girlfriend Of Chef Found Dead At Westfield Center Alleges Mall Management Cover-Up

Thanks to all who responded and outside agencies who helped out. Thank you @SF_emergency for your dispatchers @SFPD @CHPSanFrancisco 🙏👮🏻 pic.twitter.com/iZEqJ1Qpvp

— Officer Manfredi (@OfficerManfredi) October 15, 2016

A quiet neighborhood in San Francisco was left shaken Friday night, after law enforcement agents swarmed the area in search of a man who allegedly shot a San Francisco Police Department officer in the head.

The incident began to unfold at 8:15 p.m. Friday, when police were called to the Lakeshore Plaza Shopping Center, a Sunset District strip mall located on Sloat Boulevard, a few short blocks from the Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove.

Police were told, the SFPD said in a written statement, that a man at the shopping center was "threatening people and causing a disturbance." Officers tracked the suspect to the first block of Everglade Drive, which is at the easternmost tip of the shopping center, but "When the officers made contact with the subject, he turned toward the officers and fired multiple shots, striking one of the officers in the head."

As the injured officer's partner rushed to render aid, the suspect fled toward Stern Grove, according to the SFPD. After a call for backup, police surrounded Stern Grove, and SFPD's tactical unit responded to the scene.

According to Hoodline, K9 units joined plainclothes and uniformed officers in the search for the suspect. Vehicular traffic on 19th was stopped as the manhunt continued, and the suspect's description was sent to every officer on the force.

A California Highway Patrol helicopter unit also joined the search, Hoodline reports. In their statement, the SFPD also thanks the "San Francisco Fire Department, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Emergency Management, the Recreation and Parks Department...the Daly City Police Department, the San Bruno Police Department and other allied agencies" for assistance in the incident.

At around 9:17 p.m., police say the suspect "emerged from the bushes located at 28th Avenue and Vicente Street," which is just north of Stern Grove. As the suspect "attempted to flee," several officers gave chase and shot at the suspect, striking him and causing him to fall to the ground.

According to the SFPD, even after he fell "he continued to hold the firearm near his chest while refusing multiple verbal commands to surrender," therefore "tactical officers deployed flash bang devices to distract the suspect and were able to take him into custody."

Both the suspect and the injured officer were transported to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment of their injuries, police say. Neither have been publicly identified as of publication time, but KTVU reports that the injured officer is named Kevin Downs, and "is new to the San Francisco police department." The injured officer "is currently in critical condition but is conscious and with his family members," according to the SFPD

The Chron reports that Mayor Ed Lee visited the officer late Friday, "and said [the officer] looked and sounded alert."

“I had a chance to thank him and meet his family. I’m very grateful,” Lee said.

This is the first San Francisco police officer shot in the line of duty in nearly ten years. On December 22, 2006, Officer Bryan Tuvera was shot and killed in a Sunset District garage, following the pursuit of convicted felon Marlon Ruff, who has escaped from a state prison fire camp. Ruff reportedly ambushed Tuvera and his partner in a garage on the 1600 block of 25th Avenue, which is between Lawton and Moraga Streets. Ruff reportedly shot and killed himself following Tuvera's slaying, officials said at the time. (Old timers might also recall this related incident, which some say led in part to then-Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to eventually enter a rehab program for alcohol abuse.)

Returning to the present, in a statement sent early Saturday, SFPD Interim Chief Toney Chaplin said “Our thoughts are with our injured officer and his family...Our officers each day put their lives at risk to protect and serve San Francisco and we are grateful for the outpouring of support we saw Friday evening from San Franciscans who were concerned for the officer’s well-being."

"SFPD is proud of the officers involved in tonight's events. Knowing that a fellow member was down, these officers acted with a focus on containing the threat posed by the suspect and maintaining public safety."

According to SFPD spokesperson Officer Giselle Talkoff, Chaplin will be addressing the media at 11 a.m. Saturday from SF General. We'll update this report with any new information he provides at that time.

Update: Chaplin addressed the media Saturday but did not reveal either the name of the suspect or the injured officer. According to ABC 7, the officer remains in critical condition.

Update 2: The Chronicle confirms that the wounded officer is Kevin Downs, and says he was in "good spirits" Saturday after coming out of surgery, according to a family friend. Also:

Downs co-founded an organization called Ranchin’ Vets that helps veterans who served after 9/11. The organization partners with ranches and farms from across the country to create opportunities in the agricultural industry for veterans and helps them in their transition from military to civilian life.

A sleepy block in the Outer Richmond was shaken Tuesday evening, when a gun-wielding mugger discharged his weapon during a robbery.

It was 10 p.m. Tuesday when police say that a 37-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman were "gathering their things from the trunk" at the westernmost end of Clement Street, which is near Seal Rock Drive.

Suddenly, the man and woman were approached from behind by a two men in their late 20s. As one of the men pointed a handgun at them, the miscreants demanded that the victims hand over their property.

Fearing for their lives, the victims gave the men their camera equipment, a tablet computer, a driver's license, a passport, and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Though the victims complied, the gun-wielding man still "fired a shot in the air" as they duo fled in an "unknown direction," police say.

Neither of the victims were injured in the robbery, the San Francisco Police Department confirms. But as of Wednesday morning, the muggers remain on the loose.

Related: Richmond District Muggers Demand Pizza At Gunpoint

Apparently frustrated by his failure to rob a man who was headed to work Monday, an aspiring Duboce Triangle mugger discharged his firearm — but no one was injured, except, perhaps, the failed criminal's pride.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, a 61-year-old man was carrying a briefcase as he headed to work at 9:05 Monday morning, walking on the 200 block of Noe Street between 15th and 16th Streets.

Suddenly, a man in his 20s approached, demanding that the older man hand over the briefcase. But try though the criminal might, the older man "refused to let go of the case," police say.

In an apparent effort to intimidate his victim, the mugger "produced a weapon and fired one shot into the air," but to no avail. Thwarted and empty-handed, the suspect fled the scene by car, and hasn't been seen since.

Police say that the briefcase-holding man was not injured in the incident, and did not suffer any losses in the confrontation. The suspect remains at large, and no arrests have been made in the case.

A Mission District pedestrian was robbed Tuesday evening, when he paused in his travels to text.

It was 10:45 p.m. when the 25-year-old victim was walking through the area of 21st and Shotwell Streets.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the man "was walking on sidewalk and then stopped to text a friend." That's the moment when two suspects, both believed to be around 30-years-old, rushed him from behind.

One of the muggers showed the victim a "black handgun," police say, then punched the pedestrian in the head "several times."

Together, the dreadful duo robbed the man of the cash he had in his pocket, and took the phone on which he'd so recently been texting, the SFPD reports.

The victim was injured seriously enough in the attack that he had to be transported to San Francisco General Hospital, where police say he was in stable condition as of last night.

The suspects fled on foot, police say, and remain at large as of Wednesday morning.

A San Francisco man's quiet evening at home was abruptly shattered Wednesday, when a bullet tore through his ceiling and struck him in the leg.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, a 24-year-old male resident of the 200 block of Serrano Drive (which borders the campus of San Francisco State University) made the decision to clean his handgun at 10:30 Wednesday evening.

Unfortunately, police say, the gun owner made the classic error of failing to check the weapon's chamber for ammunition before he began the cleaning process.

And there was indeed a bullet in the chamber, according to the SFPD! As the weapon washer began his task, he allegedly discharged the gun. The bullet ripped through the floor of his residence and into the home of his 63-year-old neighbor, striking the latter man in the leg.

The shooting victim was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, police say, with injuries that aren't considered life-threatening. An SFPD spokesperson says it's "unknown" if the alleged shooter was arrested, and declined to comment on what, if any, consequences he might face.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent reported his handgun missing after leaving it on the roof of his car and driving away, much like your mom did with a cup of coffee that one time.

According to reports, the loaded gun was lost around 7 a.m. on Friday in San Francisco's Ingleside neighborhood. A dispatch bulletin stated, "The loaded firearm is a Black H&K P200sk .40 caliber weapon."

The agent is the latest in a series of incidents in which law enforcement agents or gun owners either lost their firearms or had them stolen.

• A gun used to kill an Oakland mural artist was stolen from a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations agent's car in September.


• The Golden Gate Park killers used a stolen gun to shoot a Marin hiker and a GGP backpacker in October. The owner of the gun was a civilian, not a law enforcement officer, and he'd left his car unlocked.


• A CHP officer's gun was stolen from his Prius in October.


• The gun that killed Kate Steinle at Pier 14 in July was stolen from a federal agent's car.

In a statement to KTVU, ICE confirmed the incident, saying that "A duty weapon belonging to a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was reported missing Friday morning in San Francisco."

"The incident was properly reported through official federal channels and to local authorities. The matter is currently under investigation."

Needless to say, this week's lost gun has yet to be recovered.

A San Francisco man is recovering after a terrifying, hours-long ordeal during which he was beaten, kidnapped, and robbed of his gun.

It all started at around 11 p.m. Thursday, KRON4 reports, when a 23-year-old man was kidnapped from the sidewalk near Orizaba and Holloway Avenues.

Two assailants, described as between 20 and 30 years old, punched him "in his face and head several times with brass knuckles," KRON4 reports, then took him to a second, unknown location while a third man robbed the kidnapped man's Ingleside Terrace home.

After he was set free by his captors, the man took himself to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment of his injuries, which aren't considered life-threatening. Officers with the San Francisco Police Department were called to the hospital after the man told staffers he'd been abducted and beaten. "It was unclear whether the victim was specifically targeted or if the attack was random," the Chron reports.

The only item that police specify was taken from the victim's home was a firearm, the latest in a wave of gun thefts sweeping San Francisco. Earlier this month, a man walking at Seventh and Mission Streets was knocked to the ground and robbed of a bag containing his gun. In addition, news that as of November 20, 57 guns have been stolen from vehicles in SF over the course of 2015 gave extra oomph to Supervisor David Campos' proposed legislation making it a crime to leave an unsecured gun in a car.

As of publication time, none of the suspects in the beating, kidnapping, and robbery have been arrested, police say. Anyone with information on the case is urged to call SFPD's Anonymous Tip Line at (415) 575-4444 or to text-a-tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the beginning of the message.

Previously: Campos: Leave Your Unsecured Gun In The Car, Go To Jail
Mugger Gets Away With Victim's Gun During Mission Street Robbery

The Bay Area Reporter notes, "We're hearing reports that there has been a shooting at the Mission Dolores chapel this morning." We'll update as soon as we know more.

Update: According to Mission Local, an elderly man shot himself in the head at around 7 a.m.

At around 7 a.m. the custodian for the chapel, Raju Kumar, noticed a man who appeared to be around 80-years-old, sleeping on top of the steps in front of the gift shop at Mission Dolores.

“‘Get up, it’s about time,’”he recalls telling the man. Kumar added that it is not unusual to see people passed out in front of the church early in the morning.

As the man got up, Kumar noticed the man’s bloody wrist and asked him if he was OK. After Kumar saw that there was a gun inside the man’s open umbrella, he stepped back and asked a passerby to call the police. At that moment the man picked up the gun and pointed it at his head.

“Don’t do that! don’t do that!,” Kumar recalls telling the man before he shot himself in the head. Police and other first responders arrived about ten minutes later and took the body, Kumar said.

Mission Local goes on to note that, although they don't normally report suicides (per MSM unwritten rules), they did so "because it happened in a very public space where many people could see the aftermath of the incident."