SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A U.S. official said Tuesday the government believes the driver who crashed into the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco the day before did so “with malign intent,” but police haven’t shared details about the driver’s identity or motive for what the Chinese government has branded a “violent attack.”

A witness waiting his turn to submit his visa documents at the consulate Monday described seeing the car barrel through the main doors at full speed before striking a wall. The driver was bleeding from his head as he exited the vehicle yelling about the C.C.P., an abbreviation for the Chinese Communist Party, Sergii Molchanov said.

San Francisco police arrived on scene and shot the driver, who died later in a hospital.

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“We condemn this incident and all violence perpetrated against foreign diplomatic staff working in the United States,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.

U.S. government officials have been in contact with Chinese foreign ministry officials in the aftermath of the incident Monday, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official added that investigators believe the driver was “acting with malign intent.”

San Francisco police said Monday they didn’t know why the unidentified driver smashed through the front of the consulate, located in a residential neighborhood and next to a major street. The San Francisco Police Department said in a statement Tuesday it had no other information and that it would hold a town hall meeting within 10 days to discuss the fatal shooting.

Molchanov was in line waiting for his turn to submit his visa documents when the car, a blue Honda sedan, barreled in through the main doors at full speed, barely missing him.

Molchanov told The Associated Press that the car struck a wall, and he saw the driver, who was bleeding from his head, exit the car.

Molchanov took out his phone and recorded security guards approaching the man and several people running out of the building.

“Two security guards from the entrance tried to confront him and calm him down,” Molchanov said. “But I couldn’t see what he held in his hands.”

When it appeared that the man was attempting to grab something from his car, Molchanov said he rushed outside.

Shortly after that, police arrived on the scene. Molchanov said he heard two gunshots.

San Francisco police haven’t said how many officers fired or if the driver had a weapon.

Another witness said the driver was bleeding and holding knives when he exited the car and then began arguing with security guards.

Tony Xin told KTVU-TV he saw a security guard trying to detain the driver before he ran out of the building through the damaged doorway.

Xin said less than a minute after the driver got out of the car, five police officers arrived, initially with their guns drawn, and rushed into the building. He said they were later joined by more officers.

“I heard a really loud bang. I thought it was gunshots. I looked to the left and there was smoke,” Xin said. “I turned back and saw the guy take out a crossbow.”

The police department said it is working and coordinating with investigators from the U.S. State Department and the Chinese Consulate. The incident comes as San Francisco is preparing to host next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, a gathering of world leaders from Pacific Rim nations. President Joe Biden plans to attend but it’s not clear if Chinese President Xi Jinping will come.

The statement from the Chinese Consulate demanded more details about what happened and asked that it be “dealt with seriously in accordance with the law.”

“Our embassy severely condemns this violent attack,” the statement said.

Consulates typically have some type of security, such as locally hired guards. Neither the consulate nor San Francisco police immediately responded to questions about what security was in place at the facility.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin again called for an investigation at a daily briefing Tuesday without giving any details about damage to the consulate or injuries to staff and visitors.

“We strongly urge the U.S. to launch a swift investigation and take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese diplomatic missions and personnel there in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” Wang said, referring to the 1961 agreement governing relations between countries.

The San Francisco consulate has been targeted a number of times before. Among the most serious was a fire set by a Chinese man on New Year’s Day 2014 at the main entrance. It charred a section of the outside of the building.

The man, who was living in the San Francisco Bay Area, told authorities he was driven by voices he was hearing. He was sentenced to nearly three years in prison.

Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Beatrice Dupuy in New York contributed to this report.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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News

By Marjorie Hernandez

Published
Sep. 20, 2023, 10:19 p.m. ET

A shocking video showed tourists being thrown off a vehicle while trying to stop brazen thieves from speeding off with their belongings during a violent robbery in a popular San Francisco area.

Dmitry Koval, a victim who posted the video to Instagram, told The Post that he and his friends were hoping to take in the scenery and get something to eat at the Fort Mason Center lot in the Marian District on September 13.

The group was already across the parking lot at about 4 p.m. when they saw a black SUV park pull up next to their two vans.

They watched in horror as two suspects got out of their vehicle and broke into their vehicles.

“We saw them taking bags from our vans and started putting it into the black SUV,” Koval, 30, said. “That’s when my friends started running and other people there were honking their horns. I heard someone yell, ‘Don’t run to them! They might have a gun!’

Shocking video shows San Francisco tourists thrown from a moving vehicle as they tried to stop car robbers in broad daylight at the Fort Mason Center.Dmitry Koval

“But my friends were already trying to stop them so I could not leave them.”

As Koval’s friends tried to surround the vehicle, the driver of the black SUV stepped on the gas.

One of Koval’s friends hung onto the driver-side window and ran alongside it in an attempt to take control of the wheel.

Another friend also grabbed onto the moving vehicle and tried to wrestle the other suspect who was sitting on the passenger’s side.

“We even broke the windshield with crutches in hopes it would stop them,” Koval wrote in his Instagram post. “Still, the burglar was able to turn the wheel and pushed the gas all the way in.”

The robbers got away with about $10,000 worth of cash, computers and other belongings from Koval and his friends.Dmitry Koval

Within a few seconds, the driver accelerated at a high speed, throwing the friend who was holding onto the driver onto the asphalt. He rolled on the ground several times, causing gash burns throughout his body.

The other victim held onto the passenger side of the robbers’ SUV for another 100 feet before he also was violently thrown off the vehicle, Koval told The Post.

The men suffered minor to serious injuries, with one of them staying a few days at a local hospital because he had broken his legs in the melee.

Koval said before the brazen daytime robbery, they had parked at another location to get a better view of the Golden Gate Bridge. They were alarmed, however, when they saw a vehicle had been broken into at that lot as well.

One of the men who tried to stop the robbers suffered deep gashes and skin burns.Dmitry Koval

The men suffered minor to serious injuries during the melee.Dmitry Koval

“We thought we would be safer if we went somewhere else so we went to Fort Mason lot,” Koval said. “I am just still in shock because it all happened so fast. In total, they probably took about $10,000 worth [of items], including laptops and other important things like documents and our passports.”

Car break-ins have been so common in the Bay Area that law enforcement officials and locals have a name for it.

“It’s called ‘bipping and boosting,’” San Francisco Lt. Tracy McCray told The Post, referring to the slang term used for the vehicle smash-and-grab incidents that have become commonplace in San Francisco, Oakland and other parts of Northern California.

A street sign says ”Safety Alert-Smash and Grab Hotspot” near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California on August 9, 2023. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Day-time vehicle break-ins have become so common in San Francisco neighborhoods such as the Alamo Square and Japantown that Supervisor Dean Preston called for a hearing to address the city’s bipping epidemic, according to the San Francisco Standard.

The City by the Bay has been hit not only with increases in thefts and robberies but is also suffering through another record high of drug overdoses with about 85 deaths last month.

A car with a broken window is seen in Alamo Square of San Francisco, California on August 9, 2023. Car break-ins have been at epidemic levels in the Bay Area.Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The increase of certain crimes, fatal overdoses and the exodus of businesses in the once bustling downtown San Francisco tourist corridor also have contributed to the city’s “doom loop.”

Koval, who lives in Massachusetts, said he has visited San Francisco a handful of times before, but he has never experienced a traumatic event like the one that unfolded in front of him last week.

He said the only solace he took from the incident was from the bystanders who saw the robbery and quickly rendered his friends aid and called the cops.

“It has been traumatic and it makes me think that we will just have to avoid San Francisco because it’s just not safe anymore,” he said.

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As we recover from the economic and social fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco needs a resurgence in tourism, businesses reopening, residents staying in the city, and newcomers moving in. None of this will happen if San Francisco leadership cannot ensure public safety Right.

Crime in the city made national headlines this month after former fire commissioner Don Carmignani was violently assaulted in the street by a man with a metal pipe and a downtown whole food store was temporarily closed after just a year of operation because fire department executives Company said they were concerned about worker safety.

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Responsibility for public safety rests with Mayor London Breed and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. Jenkins is taking significant steps to ensure that there are consequences in our criminal justice system and that victims receive the justice they deserve.

6 ways SF city guides can improve public safety

Now other elected officials like the mayor and board of directors must act to improve public safety. Here are six steps to ensure public safety now:

►Fully fund our police department through a voter-approved bylaw amendment for full occupation. Since 2020, police officer numbers have fallen dangerously, beginning with $120 million in budget cuts implemented by Mayor Breed. Although supervisors recently approved spending $25 million in overtime as a one-time stopgap measure, we must fix the structural problem to fill the hundreds of vacancies at our neighborhood stations.

Only a fully funded police agency can respond to public safety needs such as: These include ending open-air drug markets, solving homicides, protecting small businesses, preventing burglaries and robberies, and enforcing traffic laws to protect pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Managers Matt Dorsey and Catherine Stefani proposed an action that would ensure that we meet our workforce targets. This bold plan is a step in the right direction.

A shooting happened next to my classroom:How do you teach after gun violence?

Want fewer shoots?:Pass stricter gun laws. Our research shows that lax laws encourage violence.

►Reroute lower-priority calls to other agencies and invest in proven strategies that prevent crime in the first place. Police officers are not the most appropriate public safety agency for all calls. We need to change local laws that require police to respond to minor issues like barking dogs, which are better handled by animal control officers.

Deploying parking attendants in parks and playgrounds and community ambassadors in business corridors allows officers to respond quickly to high-priority calls.

Invest in crime prevention strategies

We also need to invest in proven strategies that prevent crime. Strategic investments in drug treatment, Universal Basic Income, after-school activities for youth, security cameras, and vocational training and transitional employment all have an upstream impact in our most vulnerable communities.

►Properly addressing untreated mental health issues outside of the criminal justice system. About 20% of the American population has a mental illness, but 44% of inmates and 37% of inmates have a mental illness. Incarceration exacerbates these challenges, and the criminal justice system is not designed to provide these individuals with the care they need. New approaches to care are needed to place people in the right care.

San Francisco established a behavioral health court to improve public safety and reduce the recidivism rate of criminal suspects suffering from serious mental illness by connecting them to community treatment services. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to introduce CARE courts will also help.

►Make sure our emergency call system is working. Our 911 dispatchers answer approximately 2,000 calls per month and a recent performance review of one controller showed that less than 80% of 911 calls are answered in a timely manner. Each missed objective means a resident has to wait longer for an ambulance, police officer, or other first responder.

Meanwhile, response times for some of our key services, including medical calls, are increasing. Working with partners in organized labor, I will strengthen our 911 dispatch system by increasing dispatcher pay, recruiting additional dispatchers, and making system improvements to improve response times. That plan will require voter approval early next year.

Focus on hate crime, retail theft

►Prioritize ending hate crimes. As of the 2020 census, 34% of San Francisco’s Americans are Asian Americans. Like many cities, San Francisco has seen vicious anti-Asian hate crimes. We must remain vigilant to end these crimes that harm victims and create fear in communities. Hate crimes also target LGBTQ+ residents and places of worship such as synagogues and mosques. The upcoming budget should provide sufficient funding for the Office of Victim & Survivor Rights to support hate crime survivors and groups that serve them.

►Take action against organized theft in retail. Organized retail theft led to the closure of stores like Walgreens and Whole Foods in downtown San Francisco. These crimes often turn violent: a supermarket security guard was shot dead in my neighborhood and another security guard in Japantown was killed after an armed clash. We must take these crimes seriously and keep up the pressure to dismantle these criminal rings that are harming our businesses, workers and buyers.

While the public safety challenges the city is facing did not arise overnight, San Francisco must act quickly to change both the safety narrative and the reality on the street.

Strong leadership and better management of city resources are required to bring about real, lasting change. As long as I’m in public office, I look forward to working with all San Franciscos to continue the fight.

Ahsha Safaí, member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, represents District 11, Excelsior, Outer Mission and Lakeview/OMI. He holds a dual bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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SAN CARLOS — A suspect who broke into a home in San Carlos early Saturday morning, assaulted and injured a resident and then barricaded himself inside the apartment was taken into custody about three hours later without incident or use of force, police said .

Omar Areas, 42, of San Francisco, was booked into the San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, home burglary and domestic violence around 9 a.m., police said.

The case began when a man entered the home on the 300 block of Dartmouth Avenue early Saturday and attacked another man, injuring the man’s head, police said. The wounded man fled the home and called for help, police said, while his attacker – who knew him – stayed inside.

Sheriff’s deputies went to the scene around 6:04 a.m. and deputies trained in crisis intervention spoke with the wounded man while he was treated by fire and medical first responders for a large laceration to his head, police said.

Deputies tried to speak to the suspect but he barricaded himself inside the house, according to police. The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Crisis Negotiation Unit and the San Mateo County Psychiatric Emergency Response Team have been called in to continue efforts to de-escalate the situation and find a peaceful resolution.

After about three hours, the emergency services were able to arrest the suspect without using violence, the police said.

The result was a collaborative effort involving the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Deputy San Carlos Patrol Bureau, Headquarters Patrol Bureau, Transit Patrol Bureau, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Crisis Negotiation Unit, San Mateo County Psychiatric Emergency Response teams and Belmont officers were involved, police said.

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TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Tulsa are looking for a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home Wednesday evening when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Police are now looking for 40-year-old Elga Harper. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Police said once Harper is captured, he will be charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Detectives said while Harper has a beard in most photographs, they believe he likely shaved his face to change his appearance.

Police are asking anyone who sees Harper to call 911.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman on the run after violent sexual assault of 70-year-old lady, police say appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Tulsa are looking for a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home Wednesday evening when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Police are now looking for 40-year-old Elga Harper. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Police said once Harper is captured, he will be charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Detectives said while Harper has a beard in most photographs, they believe he likely shaved his face to change his appearance.

Police are asking anyone who sees Harper to call 911.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman on the run after violent sexual assault of 70-year-old girl, police say appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Tulsa are looking for a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home Wednesday evening when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Police are now looking for 40-year-old Elga Harper. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Police said once Harper is captured, he will be charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Detectives said while Harper has a beard in most photographs, they believe he likely shaved his face to change his appearance.

Police are asking anyone who sees Harper to call 911.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman on the run after violent sexual assault of 70-year-old girl, police say appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Tulsa are looking for a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home Wednesday evening when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Police are now looking for 40-year-old Elga Harper. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Police said once Harper is captured, he will be charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Detectives said while Harper has a beard in most photographs, they believe he likely shaved his face to change his appearance.

Police are asking anyone who sees Harper to call 911.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Oklahoma arrested a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home on May 4 when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Elga Harper, 40, was taken into custody Tuesday after nearly a week on the run.

Harper was charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first-degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman arrested after violent sexual assault of 70-year-old consumer, police say appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Tulsa are looking for a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home Wednesday evening when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Police are now looking for 40-year-old Elga Harper. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Police said once Harper is captured, he will be charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Detectives said while Harper has a beard in most photographs, they believe he likely shaved his face to change his appearance.

Police are asking anyone who sees Harper to call 911.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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