Police are looking for a male suspect who assaulted a taxi driver with a padlock early Tuesday morning outside San Francisco’s Civic Center BART station, a police spokeswoman said today.
The 34-year-old taxi driver pulled over to drop off a male passenger at the BART station at the intersection of Seventh and Market streets when the passenger struck him multiple times with a metal padlock, according to San Francisco police spokeswoman Officer Grace Gatpandan.
A video of the assault was recorded on the cab’s dashboard camera and uploaded onto YouTube today by the victim’s friend, Gatpandan said.
The taxi driver’s friend notes that the suspect mentioned to the driver that he lives within 10 blocks of the Fruitvale BART station.
The assault occurred at about 12:05 a.m. and police arrived at the scene shortly afterward. Before officers arrived, the suspect fled from the vehicle and headed into the BART station.
BART police were notified but the suspect was not located. Police are reviewing BART surveillance cameras for information on the suspect.
Gatpandan said the suspect, described as a light-skinned man in his early to mid 20s, was last seen wearing a light-colored T-shirt and blue jeans. He is described as standing 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing about 145 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
The victim, who was struck by the padlock at least two times, was treated by paramedics at the scene and released, Gatpandan said.
Anyone with any information about the identity of the suspect is encouraged to contact police at (415) 553-0123 or may text an anonymous tip to 847411 with “SFPD” followed by the message.
Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News
