A British tourist walking with his niece near Post Street and Franklin was robbed at knifepoint and then stabbed in the head. His condition is described as "grave."
The 44-year old tourist and his niece, who was visiting from Southern California, were mugged at 8:30pm on Thursday night. According to police, the victims described their assailants as, "a black male 5'10" with a heavy muscular build, hooded sweatshirt. The female was black 5'4" wearing a green and grey wool scarf."
The scarf, which might contain potential DNA evidence, was left behind at the crime scene.
During the robbery, the victim attempted to hang on to his green messenger bag which contained his passport, cash, credit cards, and his cell phone. It was at this point that the male suspect stabbed the victim in the head.
The suspects ran away with the messenger bag, and the victim was taken to SF General Hospital, where he remains with life-threatening injuries. The niece was not (physically) injured in the attack.
Former San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi just happened to be walking on that very same block the next morning, apparently on his way to the gym. Mirkarimi took this opportunity to tell reporters that there should be more beat cops walking the streets of San Francisco. “There needs to be more of a community policing presence throughout San Francisco,” Mirkarimi told the Chronicle. “Tourists find every nook and cranny in the city.”
Anyone with information about this crime can call SFPD at (415) 575-4444 or send a text to TIP411.