4 Elderly Women Robbed In San Francisco; 34 Looting Charges Filed
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- While crime overall has dipped during the coronavirus outbreak, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott called four recent violent robberies of elderly women in the city "simply unacceptable" and asked for the public's help in apprehending the suspects.
During the city's daily coronavirus briefing, Scott took a few moments to give a snapshot of crime in the city over recent weeks. Overall crime was down 23 percent, he said, but there were incidents that simply would not be tolerated.
Scott said over the last 11 days, four elderly women -- ages 85, 69, 70 and 84 -- had been violently robbed of their purses.
"It's a disturbing trend that we are seeing," he said. "We've had four elderly victims robbed -- some at gunpoint -- over the past 11 days. They were all women, they were all robbed of their purses and this is simply unacceptable."
"In some cases violence was used, they were thrown to the ground. Like I said, some were at gunpoint."
Scott did not give any other details about the robberies.
"We have enough challenges in our city with COVID-19," he said. "This is something we just can't tolerate."
Scott also said there have been other "concerning" crimes involving the use of firearms.
"We've also seen a couple of shootings that are very concerning," he said. "One overnight in the Hunters Point-Bayview area where 100 rounds were fired...Nobody was hit. We cannot allow this kind of crime in the city."
Scott also said there has been an uptick in burglaries during the shelter in place order, especially of commercial establishments. He said since those crime have taken place during the health emergency, the district attorney has filed 34 additional counts of looting against the suspects.
Officers will continue to remind people about social distancing and wearing masks, Scott said, adding that at times officers have given people masks to help them comply with the public health order.
There have been 19 citations issued for ignoring the shelter-in-place order - 10 businesses and 9 individuals - and officers have issued 86 warnings against individuals and businesses, Scott said.
