The SFPD announced three more arrests — two adults and one juvenile — in connection with a wild rolling gun battle in June down the Embarcadero from Fisherman's Wharf that left a young girl injured.
Four months after the district attorney declined to file charges against either of the two people who were left injured at the scene of the shootout, we get word that three others involved, likely from the other vehicle, have been taken into custody.
The shootout, which occurred between two cars on June 18, was a shock to city leaders, who quickly declared it a "miracle" that no one was seriously injured amid the flying bullets. It began around 6:45 p.m. on the Sunday of Father's Day in the vicinity of Beach and Stockton streets, near Pier 39.
The two cars involved proceeded to speed down the Embarcadero, and more shots were exchanged moments later as they reached Embarcadero and Howard Street. Police ultimately found over 20 shell casings, and multiple vehicles were damaged.
Six people were injured, including several hit by shards of flying glass from bullet strikes, and a 10-year-old girl who was walking a bicycle across the Embarcadero was among the injured.
Two individuals were injured in the shooting, and were both detained at the hospital after they crashed their car on the Embarcadero. One of those, 33-year-old Lee Haywood of Pittsburg, was arrested after being shot int he chest, but District Attorney Brooke Jenkins later declined to charge him — while no rationale was given, it appeared likely due to a self-defense claim.
The two adults now facing new charges in connection with the shootout are Richard Tuiasosopo and Xavier Pittman, and the DA's office tells us it was already pursuing other charges related to a separate crime against Pittman. Both men were already known to law enforcement, in fact, and Tuiasosopo was already in Santa Rita Jail this month on unrelated charges as well.
The third individual arrested, a juvenile, is not being named because of his age.
"Our city was rocked [by this incident],” Jenkins said in a statement. "The individuals responsible for this have a history of committing crime in our city."
As the Chronicle reports, Pittman was involved in a May 2021 incident in which he was allegedly attempting to break into a car in San Francisco, and he was unintentionally shot in the wrist by an undercover SFPD officer who attempting to take him into custody.
Pittman later received an apology from SFPD Chief Bill Scott, and Officer Zachary McAuliffe admitted that the shooting was unintentional.
Scott would not say Thursday whether any more arrests may be made in connection with the June gun battle, and he only said there is "more to investigate," per the Chronicle.
