A San Francisco man died after his sleeping bag was set on fireplace early Saturday within the metropolis’s Mission District, police stated Wednesday.
The 43-year-old man, whose title has not been launched, was asleep on the nook of twenty fifth Avenue and South Van Ness Avenue on Friday. He awoke to search out his sleeping bag in flames, officers stated.
The San Francisco Police Division responded to the report of an aggravated assault with fireplace at 5 a.m. Saturday.
The sufferer sustained accidents to his decrease extremities and was transported to an area hospital for therapy. He handed away the subsequent day. The San Francisco Workplace of the Chief Medical Examiner known as the incident a murder; an investigation is underway.
The incident is an instance of the extraordinarily harmful atmosphere individuals who lack everlasting housing face on San Francisco streets.
Robert Rueca, an SFPD spokesperson, stated the acts of violence dedicated towards town’s weak inhabitants are tragic.
“We all know they’re a weak group,” Rueca stated. “And town is doing all they’ll to deal with not solely the violence, [but also] present individuals in the neighborhood the sources they should enhance the scenario.”
Individuals residing open air are additionally typically robbed when they’re sleeping. “Clearly with theft, that is a distinct image for somebody who has all their belongings with them, for somebody who does not have quite a bit to start with,” Rueca stated. “It is that rather more threatening to their potential to proceed.”
Jennifer Friedenbach, director of the Coalition on Homelessness, stated the incident was “actually tragic” and will have been simply prevented if the sufferer had a house.
“When a person doesn’t have a door to lock, they exist on the mercy of these round them, and are simple targets for violence – violence that usually happens when they’re sleeping, violence that usually goes unreported,” Friedenbach stated in a press release. “Including to that lack of security a house gives, far too typically unhoused individuals expertise hate primarily based assaults as members of a category of people who find themselves scapegoated, typecast and vilified for his or her impoverished standing. Coverage makers in SF sadly have for many years tapped into the concern many individuals really feel round homelessness and use homeless individuals as a political wedge, furthering the dehumanization course of and driving up violence towards them. ”
Anybody with info on the incident can name the police division tip line at (415) 575-4444 or textual content a tip to TIP411 and start the textual content message with SFPD. Chances are you’ll stay nameless.
