Man arrested in slaying of woman in San Francisco's Oceanview District
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) -- Police said Thursday that they have arrested a suspect in a triple shooting in which an elderly San Francisco woman was gunned down yesterday outside her Oceanview home.
Police said Jonathon Santos, 24, of Vallejo, was taken into custody in the 300 block of Mansell Street in San Francisco.
Narcotics officers arrested Santos in Visitacion Valley within 20 minutes of the shootings. He has been charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder and booked into San Francisco County Jail, authorities said.
Police found Lian Xiu Wu, 65, after officers were called to area for gunfire. The woman was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, where she died. She was apparently an innocent bystander who was caught in the crossfire of a shooting incident.
MORE COVERAGE
The two other victims, a 40 year-old male San Jose resident and 51 year-old male San Francisco resident, both sustained non-life threatening gunshot wounds. Both male victims were transported to the hospital and treated for their injuries.
Police have not yet said what the motive in the shooting was.
The fatal shooting of Wu was the third in six months at the corner of Broad Street and Plymouth Avenue in the Oceanview District. Several buildings in the area have bullet holes.
"This intersection continues to be a concern for us, as a police department, and more importantly, for the community," San Francisco police Captain Denise Flaherty said immediately after the triple shooting.
Wu's family is dealing with funeral arrangements as well wishers continued to drop off flowers, candles and fruit on the sidewalk where Wu was killed just steps from her home on Plymouth Avenue. She was walking to the bus stop when she was struck in the head under a hail of bullets.
"[She was] a good-hearted, giving person, " said Dr. Annette Shelton, who owns a beauty parlor near the corner. "I'll tell you some of these guys they shed some tears yesterday."
"When I heard the shots, I went down to the ground," said Shelton, who said she's lucky to be alive. Shelton is known to neighbors as "Miss Shelton" and she said she was just two car lengths away from Wu when shots rang out.
"I see her laying there so I start screaming," Shelton said. "She was bleeding from the nose and I could see the blood running from her back."
"It's a sad day for this community. It's the third homicide on this corner in the last six months," said Supervisor Ahsha Safai, whose district encompasses the Oceanview area.
Safai says he's been working with the city to make the intersection safer.
"We're in process of getting security cameras right on this building and the [police] chief has already committed to more foot patrols out here," Safai said.
"If you guys see a group of people congregating together, please just let them know we're out here and it's really our job to be guardians for them in the community," said Flaherty, head of Taraval Station, which oversees Plymouth and Broad.
Officers fanned out through the neighborhood for much of the day, greeting residents, asking them if they had witnessed any part of the shooting.
Donald Andrews owns a sports clothing store called Dream Team, where the locals like to gather.
"It's like me selling ice cream shop in hell right now," said Andrews, who received some criticism yesterday from neighbors who said it's Andrew's shop that lures young men to his storefront close to where the shootings have happened.
Andrews said he's just trying to make an honest living and give back to his community.
"You guys only been hearing about the last three months but this has been going on for years," he said, referring to the violence. "It's just so immature."
Andrews said rivalries between long gone gangs continue to plague the neighborhood.
Lloyd Lacey, who owns a barber shop on the corner of Plymouth and Broad, said Wu was the neighborhood recycling collector, who was always smiling and generous.
Residents said Wu saved every dime to help bring her daughter who lives in China to the U.S two years ago.
A gofundme account has been set up to help cover funeral costs.
KTVU reporter Tara Moriarty contributed to this report.