 
|
| HOME |
| News |
| Sports |
| Entertainment |
| Technology |
| Live Views |
| Traffic |
| Weather |
| Health |
| Business |
| Columnists |
| Classifieds |
| Software Store |
| Conferences |
| Search |
| Index |
|
| ||
|
6 Teens Shot At Busy S.F. Playground Suspect at large in Chinatown attack Stephen Schwartz, Torri Minton, Ken Hoover, Chronicle Staff Writers |
Friday, June 19, 1998
|
|
As terrified children dived for cover, a youth opened fire in a packed playground in San Francisco's Chinatown yesterday and wounded six teenagers before calmly walking away.
Two of the injured youths, ranging in age from 13 to 18, were in critical condition last night.
Law enforcement sources familiar with the case told The Chronicle that the attack apparently stemmed from a turf dispute among teenagers who frequent the popular Chinese Playground on Sacramento Street. Gang Task Force investigators were trying to determine whether any of the teens have gang ties and were looking for leads to the gunman.
The shots rang out about 6:55 p.m., when as many as 100 children were playing on the jungle gyms and slides in the recently renovated playground. Many of the frightened children ducked behind the play equipment. Others threw themselves down in the sand or lay flat on the pavement, witnesses said.
``The whole area was packed with kids,'' said Peter Lenhardt of San Francisco, who was across the street during the shooting. ``I'm just glad more children weren't hurt. That's a terrible thing for kids to have to see.''
The victims were clustered around the entrance to the playground when the assailant approached and opened fire, said police Sergeant John Madden.
One woman, who was running a Toastmasters meeting across the street in the Chinatown YMCA, said she heard the shots and went to a balcony to look outside.
She said she saw a man with long hair firing at the victims and heard one shout in Cantonese, ``Kill him!''
The gunman was ruthless, said a passenger on a Municipal Railway bus that was stopped in traffic in front of the park.
``He just stood there stock-still, shooting bullet after bullet after bullet,'' said the horrified commuter. ``It seemed to go on forever.
``I have never seen anyone so cold in my life. He was young, good-looking, with erect posture, very, very straight. His arm never . . . jumped from the recoil of the gun. He finished shooting, then he lowered his arm and walked calmly down the street.''
Police described the gunman as a youth of Asian descent wearing a black windbreaker and blue jeans. A witness said he was wearing a black v-neck sweater over a white turtleneck. He may have been using a black 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
Lenhardt and his friend Alex Nosal, a teacher who lives in Korea, heard the shots but did not see the attack because the Muni bus blocked their view.
``My friend and I were scared, and we ducked,'' said Nosal. When the shooting stopped, he and Lenhardt hurried to the park.
It was eerily quiet, the victims lay bleeding and many of the stunned children were huddled on the ground, Nosal said.
``Then one (child) started to cry,'' said Nosal, who provided first aid to victims.
`'I know who that is,'' a distraught young woman told Nosal as he tended to the wounded before ambulances came.
``He's with a gang,'' she said of the gunman.
One of the victims, who was shot in the arm, walked six blocks to the Chinese Hospital on Jackson Street, where he was treated last night.
The other five were taken to San Francisco General Hospital, spokeswoman Gloria Rodriguez said.
A 13-year-old and a 15-year-old, both shot in the abdomen, underwent surgery and were in serious condition late last night. A 14-year- old who was shot in the chest and an 18-year-old who was shot in the left thigh also were in serious condition. Another 18-year-old, who was shot in the right thigh, was in fair condition. The victims' names were not released.
Police sealed off the park to gather evidence. The entrance was littered
with shell casings and a blood-stained windbreaker lay near the gate.
Officers said that in the past, teenagers had congregated in the park,
occasionally causing trouble and selling illegal fireworks. But since its
renovation, small children have had full run of the park.
| MORE CRIME |
 The search is on for the Chinatown playground shooter.
6 teens shot at busy Chinatown playground. Suspicious stranger sought in case of missing girl. Road rage ruled out in I-80 shooting.
|
| ON THE GATE |
Wire up, plug in, and log on: Technology
on The Gate.
|
