Man assaulted in S.F. in what friend decries as antisemitic attack: ‘Still in shock'
A man was assaulted in San Francisco's Marina District in what a friend who was with him decried Sunday as an antisemitic attack.
The assault occurred around 2:20 a.m. Friday on Fillmore Street near Moulton Street, police said. Officials described it only as an unprovoked attack.
Alana Gans, 28, told the Chronicle that she and her 27-year-old friend were sitting on a curb waiting for an Uber after a night out when a man near them started screaming, "F--- Jews, free Palestine.' Gans said the assailant shouted for about a minute before she told him she was Jewish and asked him to leave.
When she made the plea, he walked over and said, "F--- you," she said.
She stood up, as did her friend, who got in between her and the assailant, she said.
Two other men who were nearby took out their phones and started to record the commotion as they laughed. They, too, shouted, "F--- Jews," Gans said.
As she tried to pull her friend's arm to walk away, the assailant sucker-punched her friend, Gans said. Both she and her friend fell. Gans said she was unsure how she was knocked down: "I have no idea," she said. "I was just on the (ground)."
Other men joined the assailant and kicked her friend, repeated the anti-Jewish remarks and laughed, Gans said.
When an employee from the nearby Balboa Cafe tried to pull the men away, they pushed him to the ground and started kicking him, she said, adding that the entire attack lasted about 30 seconds.
Her friend suffered a swollen lip, as well as two bumps on the front of his head and another on the back of his head, she said.
The assailants ran away, only to return and yell, 'F--- those Jews,' Gans said. She pointed them out to officers, who detained the main assailant and two other men, she said.
Police said officers found a man suffering from injuries at the scene. They learned that a group approached the victim and a friend before the victim was assaulted without provocation.
The assailants took off, but officers located two suspects in the area, police said. One of them was arrested on suspicion of assault. The other was cited for battery and released.
"I'm still in shock," Gans said Sunday of the attack.
Gans said she believes it's important for "everyone to know that this is happening in their backyard."
Gans added that violence like the assault shows the urgent need to listen to one another regardless of ideologies. It's also an opportunity for the community to come together in a united front against hatred. "No one, no matter what, should be attacked,' Gans said.
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- American Military News
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Precinct officers are being accused on social media of having been heavy-handed as they broke up Puerto Rican Parade after-parties in Bushwick on Sunday. 'On Sunday evening, NYPD pigs from the 83rd Precinct launched a fascist offensive against the community of Bushwick, NYC, attacking Puerto Ricans and non-Puerto Ricans during peaceful celebrations during the Manhattan and Brooklyn Puerto Rican Day Parades,' one post noted. 'The first attack happened around the Bush Dyke Bar around 8 p.m. Victims of this unnecessary raid reported being slammed to the ground, resulting in hospitalizations.' In a second incident, cops shut down an after-party at Mood Ring on Myrtle Ave. The incident resulted in at least one hospitalization, BKMag reported. An NYPD spokesman said cops were called to the second venue around 12:20 a.m. Monday after getting a 311 call about a disorderly group outside. Officers tried to disperse the crowd, but several people refused to leave, the spokesman said, adding that at least one partier assaulted a cop trying to move the crowd along. Police took five people into custody. Three were hit with criminal charges, and two were given summonses for disorderly conduct, officials said. The criminal charges ranged from assault and resisting arrest to obstructing government administration and criminal mischief, cops said. 'The NYPD did not shut down the premises and no enforcement action was taken inside the establishment,' the NYPD spokesman added. 'The NYPD entered the establishment only to speak with management.' The NYPD was aware of the Wednesday night protest, but it wasn't immediately clear if it was connected to the arson incident hours afterward. _____ Vandals torched 11 NYPD police cars in a Brooklyn parking lot down the street from a police stationhouse early Thursday, police said. The brazen act of vandalism happened just hours after protesters held a 'Speak Out' at the 83rd Precinct stationhouse on Knickerbocker Ave. and Bleecker St. in Bushwick, decrying the cops for their treatment of Puerto Rican Day Parade celebrants at after-parties in the neighborhood on Sunday night and Monday morning. The NYPD was aware of the Wednesday night demonstration, but it wasn't immediately clear if the two incidents were linked. The marked and unmarked NYPD vehicles were set ablaze inside the lot around 1:30 a.m. Thursday, cops said. The FDNY managed to put out the blaze within a few minutes. No injuries were reported, but the vehicles suffered extensive damage, officials said. Two men dressed in black were seen fleeing the scene. Investigators believe someone poured gasoline on the marked police cars before setting them on fire. A torch lighter was found on the scene. Vandals busted the windshields of some of the vehicles they didn't torch, a police source said. Palm-sized wads of kindling were found in the wheel wells of at least one car. Cops were scouring the area for surveillance video that captures the vandals walking to the lot, which is just down the block from the stationhouse. Community leaders called for calm as the vandalism stokes growing tensions between the NYPD and Brooklyn residents. City Councilmember Sandy Nurse, D-Bushwick, called the torching 'completely unacceptable.' 'Actions like this have no place in our neighborhood,' Nurse wrote on X Thursday. 'Our community is already under stress with ICE present. Now is the time to de-escalate, stand together and work through our challenges peacefully.' City Councilwoman Jen Gutiérrez, who also represents Bushwick, agreed with Nurse and called for cooler heads to prevail. 'We cannot stand up to this and any other threat with more violence,' Gutiérrez posted. 'We must de-escalate and keep our families safe.' Precinct officers are being accused on social media of having been heavy-handed as they broke up Puerto Rican Parade after-parties in Bushwick on Sunday. 'On Sunday evening, NYPD pigs from the 83rd Precinct launched a fascist offensive against the community of Bushwick, NYC, attacking Puerto Ricans and non-Puerto Ricans during peaceful celebrations during the Manhattan and Brooklyn Puerto Rican Day Parades,' one post noted. 'The first attack happened around the Bush Dyke Bar around 8 p.m. Victims of this unnecessary raid reported being slammed to the ground resulting in hospitalizations.' In a second incident, cops shut down an after-party at Mood Ring on Myrtle Ave. The incident resulted in at least one hospitalization, BKMag reported. An NYPD spokesman said cops were called to the venue around 12:20 a.m. Monday after getting a 311 call about a disorderly group outside. 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