65YO woman killed, 2 hurt in San Francisco shooting

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - The San Francisco woman killed by stray gunfire in front of her home Wednesday is identified by relatives as 65-year-old Xiu Wu.

A GoFundMe account established by a nephew described Wu as a "second mom" to her family, a woman who was caring, generous and well-loved.

Wu's killing is the third in 6 months at a particularly troubled corner in the Oceanview district: the intersection of Broad Street and Plymouth Avenue.

The corner is unremarkable:  a Muni line, a local market, and a mural expressing neighborhood pride.

But the buildings are scarred by bullet holes, old and new.

"Right now we have the whole block as a crime scene," said SFPD Captain Denise Flaherty, after shots rang out about 10:30 am, believed to have been fired from a passing car.

"This intersection continues to be a concern for us, as a police department, and more importantly, for the community, " added Capt. Flaherty, who heads the Taraval Station.

She promised police would maintain a strong presence, and review video from security cameras in the area.

Wu's family gathered at her home by mid-afternoon, and at dusk, emerged to arrange a small memorial to her on the pavement. They said she was killed, simply walking to the MUNI stop, as she did each day.

"We're not Bayview, we're not Fillmore, this is not recognized as a high crime area," neighborhood activist Gwen Brown told KTVU.

Brown runs a non-profit organization on the block. called Inner City Youth.

She looked out her door, to see a woman emerge from Wu's home and make the horrible discovery.

"We all heard the shots, and I think she came outside and realized it was her sister, and she was just....screaming," said Brown, sadly. 

The woman assumed to be Wu's sister, may have actually been her daughter, who she brought from China two years ago.

Wu herself emigrated 16 years ago.

Police say two other innocent bystanders were wounded in the legs: a man working on a cleaning job for MuniI, and another man just walking home.

His ex-wife blames outsiders for bringing their disputes into the neighborhood.

"Something really needs to be done," declared Katrina, who declined to give her last name.

"Our children, and these families, we don't deserve this at all!"  

The previous homicides occured last fall, and in January, and both times, targeted young men.

"I actually saw one man laying on the ground," recalled six-month resident Adam Charles, who arrived home Wednesday to find his street cordoned off again. He would move, he said, if he could afford it.

"This neighborhood is pretty cheap, so with San Francisco prices as they are, housing as it is, you take what you can get, but this neighborhood is cheap for a reason," said Charles.

Some longtime residents remember when the neighborhood was better- not risky just walking out the door.  

"You think you're in a safe neighborhood and then something like this happens and you don't feel safe anymore," observed Xsenia Bullock, who lives next to Wu.

Youth advocate Brown predicts that police attention will fade, as it did after the previous fatal shootings.     

"Then we go back to our regular lives where we're fending for ourselves out this way," she said grimly, "and it's just frustrating." 

The GoFundMe had raised more than $1,000 in its first hour.

It will offset funeral expenses, loved ones say, and help move Wu's daughter to a safer place.        

Police said the Wednesday shooting was the fourth such incident in the neighborhood in the past six months.

• Last November, a person was fatally shot on Randolph and Head streets a few blocks away.
• That same month, another killing occurred at Broad and Plymouth streets.
• On Jan. 20, a fatal shooting in the area was also reported.

"It's outside neighborhoods that come in here and commit these violences and something really needs to be done," Katrina said.

Residents said gang members are notorious for congregating at Plymouth and Broad, where a popular sports clothing and shoe store is located.

"It shocks me that this place is always getting shot up," said Adam Charles, who tried to get past police crime scene tape Wednesday after the latest slaying.

He said he moved in six months ago because the rent was reasonable, but he now worries about his safety.

The shooting and police investigation prompted traffic delays in the area as police closed Broad Street in both directions while they searched for clues.

And the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency re-routed the M-Oceanview light-rail line and 54-Felton bus line as a result of the street closure.

KTVU reporters Debora Villalon, Tara Moriarty and Bay City News contributed to this report.