The man who was seen by neighbors having a violent mental health crisis on New Year's Even is a Marine Corps veteran with PTSD, his attorney said, and the breakdown he had was caused by a high dose of psychedelic mushrooms.
SFist reported on the naked man firing a gun on December 31 in the vicinity of 41st Avenue between Balboa and Cabrillo streets. The incident occurred before noon and was documented on social media before police intervened.
Thankfully no one was hurt, but the man was running nude with a loaded gun, and he reportedly fired several rounds while standing atop a parked car, striking multiple cars and at least one home.
Now we're learning, via the Chronicle and after a court appearance, that the man in question was 33-year-old Evan Supinski. According to Supinksi's attorney, Rebecca Young, Supinski is a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan, and he consumed psilocybin mushrooms around 10:30 a.m. on December 31, which may have interacted badly with other medication that he takes for PTSD.
Hallucinogens like psilocybin have been seen in clinical experiments to help sufferers of PTSD and other mental disorders — however high doses can induce psychosis and panic in many individuals, as we also saw with that Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to take down a plane in the midst of a very bad trip in October.
In a statement to the Chronicle, Young described her client as "a loving and devoted father" and "decorated Marine Corp veteran diagnosed with service connected, combat-related PTSD who had a complete mental breakdown after ingesting an inordinate amount of psilocybin."
Supinski's wife and baby were apparently at home at the time of the shooting incident.
We're also learning that Supinski threatened his landlord and upstairs neighbor amidst the December 31 incident, telling the landlord, Daniel Grogg — who is also a former Marine — that he was "Satan."
Supinski's wife, Debora, testified that she became worried after husband turned delusional, and he allegedly told her he wanted to kill her and the baby and commit suicide so they could all go to heaven. When she took the baby upstairs to safety, she said, he retrieved his gun. He then stripped naked and told her to do the same because they were "in the garden of Eden."
The shooting occurred after Supinski apparently cast his landlord as a villain in his mind.
According to Grogg's testimony, per the Chronicle, "He was shooting shots out front into my car with the intention of drawing me outside. He was yelling for me to come outside so he could kill me. He shot rounds into my neighbor's car two houses away. … He was calling me Satan."
Grogg was among those urging the judge not to release Supinski from jail pending trial.
Young, the attorney, told the court that Supinski had received a double dose of an unspecified medication he takes for PTSD two days earlier, and on the morning of New Year's Eve he allegedly consumed three shrooms. This led to a psychotic break about an hour later.
In January, Supinski was remanded by a judge to a veteran’s rehabilitation program, while he awaits trial. He now is participating in Fresh Start, a transitional living program for veterans in the Sunset District, and is wearing an ankle monitor. The judge cited Supinski's lack of a criminal record, and the bad trip, for her decision.
Previously: Naked Man Reportedly Shooting Off Gun Amid Mental Health Crisis In Outer Richmond