A shooting on a quiet Bernal Heights street has led to San Francisco's 47th homicide for the year, taking us well past 2014's total number of slayings.
Bay City News reported Wednesday that police received a SpotShotter gunshot detection system activation at 3:20 a.m. on Wednesday, December 9, on the 100 block of Holladay Avenue.
According to BCN, when police arrived, no victims were found, but a 17-year-old male who "had been taken to San Francisco General Hospital by friends" had been shot in the incident.
A commenter on the neighborhood blog Bernalwood said that "Sadly, the victim died at the hospital yesterday."
Through an intermediary, an SPPD spokesperson told SFist that he did not have any details on the case, but confirmed via email that the victim had died. A call to San Francisco's Medical Examiner for the identity of the deceased was not returned at publication time.
According to a Bernalwood reader, Captain McFadden from Ingleside Station says that the crime might be gang related.
"The shooting appears unrelated in any way to the homeless encampment [under the US101/Cesar Chavez interchange] and is being investigated by our Gang Task Force."
"It appears that there are a group of juveniles who have chosen the area of Holladay and Peralta to hang out. My patrol and undercover units will be paying a lot of attention to the area in an effort to disperse any future gatherings," McFadden said.
According to SFPD spokesperson Officer Carlos Manfredi, this death was San Francisco's 47th homicide for the year, following the fatal shooting of Hector Salvador on Sunday. In 2014, San Francisco's total homicides numbered 45.
Update: in an email, SFPD spokesperson Sgt. Michael Andraychak says:
This is an active and ongoing investigation. There have been no arrests. I do not have any information on suspect(s) or description(s). Investigators have not disclosed any possible motive(s). The Gang Task Force is assisting the Homicide Detail on this case and, at this time, there does not appear to be any connection to the homeless encampment. That's all the information I have on this matter.
According to Mission Local, the slain man was named Miguel Alvarez. He would have turned 18 in March, 2016.
