A day after a man was fatally shot on near Duboce Park during a mugging, police still haven't tracked down the suspects in the slaying. Meanwhile, a community mourns, shocked that this violent crime could happen on such a peaceful, quiet San Francisco street.
22-year-old Michael Marquez had, ABC7 reports, gotten pizza with a group of friends in West Portal earlier that evening. He had just dropped his girlfriend off and was headed home at 12:38 early Monday morning with two other friends.
The three men were at Henry and Noe Streets when, according to the San Francisco Police Department, they were approached by five men, one of whom drew a gun and pointed it at them. The gunman shot Marquez in the torso, and the other suspects and he took Marquez's smartphone, wallet and backpack.
Witnesses say that they heard Marquez's friends crying for help, and called 911. Though Marquez was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, he died on the way there.
The Bay Area Reporter describes the suspects only as "black men of unknown age." ABC7 reports that the men hopped out of a dark colored sedan before the mugging, and police say they believe the suspects fled in that same car after the attack. At publication time, police say they don't have any suspects, though they are, ABC7 reports, seeking security camera footage from area residents that might have caught the suspects on tape.
Meanwhile, a vigil to remember Marquez drew a crowd of 40-50 people Monday night (not including multiple broadcast news crews). Speaking at the vigil, District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener said it was “rumored” that Marquez was home from college for Thanksgiving, and friends of Marquez's remembered him fondly "as a caring, giving person." One told ABC7 that at closing time at the restaurant where he worked, "instead of throwing away the food, Mike would bag it up and give it to some of the homeless people around."
In a statement to Hoodline, Wiener seemed to find police staffing issues at least partially to blame for Marquez's death, saying that "we need to continue to grow police staffing—the department is currently badly understaffed—and insist that we have a consistent police presence in the neighborhood. Working hand in hand, the community and the police can reduce this unacceptable level of violence."
Police, however, appear to working as hard as they can on the case, with SFPD spokesperson Officer Albie Esparza telling the BAR that "investigators are still interviewing victims and witnesses" in an effort to get the suspects “off our streets."
And, of course, anyone who knows anything about this crime is asked to call the SFPD's anonymous tip line at 415)-575-4444 or to send a tip by text message to TIP411 with “SFPD” in the message.