The San Francisco Police Department’s gang task force is investigating two separate shootings that injured teenage boys in the city’s Visitacion Valley on Saturday evening as well as a homicide and another shooting last week in the Sunnydale public housing complex, a police spokeswoman said today.
Officers responded to a report of a drive-by shooting around 6:20 p.m. Saturday in the unit block of Heritage at Rey Street, San Francisco police spokeswoman Officer Grace Gatpandan said.
According to a police investigation, a 14-year-old boy was playing outside when a truck drove by and someone inside it fired several shots, striking the boy.
Emergency medical personnel transported the boy to San Francisco General Hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm. Police said the injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Gatpandan said one of the two suspects was described as a man between 18 and 25 years old. Police have not released any description of the second suspect.
No one has been arrested and police are still investigating a motive for the shooting.
About an hour after that shooting, officers who were still at the scene heard gunshots come from the Sunnydale public housing complex about three blocks away at Sunnydale Avenue and Sawyer Street.
Officers located a 17-year-old boy near a basketball court suffering from a gunshot wound to his back, police said. The boy was transported to San Francisco General Hospital to be treated for his injuries, which are considered life-threatening.
Gatpandan said police are searching for footage on surveillance cameras in the area.
The shootings come after a slew of violence in the area last week, including a 33-year-old man fatally shot inside a vehicle Tuesday.
The victim was inside a vehicle near the intersection of Sunnydale Avenue and Sawyer Street when a male suspect opened fire, striking him several times, Gatpandan said.
The shooting was reported around 8:50 p.m. Tuesday, she said.
When police and emergency crews arrived at the scene, the suspect had already fled the area on foot and the victim was located in the backseat of the vehicle suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Gatpandan said the victim was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, but died before he reached the hospital.
The San Francisco medical examiner’s office has not yet released the identity of the victim.
On Thursday night, a 26-year-old man was injured on Sunnydale Avenue near Santos Street, about two blocks from Tuesday’s shooting. Police officers responded to a ShotSpotter gunshot detection system activation around 10:45 p.m. and located the victim with gunshot wounds to his abdomen and hand.
He was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, police said.
No arrests have been made in either case and the motives for the shootings remain under investigation.
Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News
