Tenderloin fatal shooting result of a shootout

By Lara Moscrip and Emmett Berg, Bay City News Service

April 15, 2007

San Francisco police released more information today about an early morning shooting in the Tenderloin neighborhood that left one woman dead and injured four other people.

In that attack, Sgt. Neville Gittens said that an as-yet-unknown person initiated the gunfire, which prompted a wheelchair-bound man to return shots. As a result of the ensuing shootout, a woman was killed and among the four injured, a 23-year-old woman suffered life threatening injuries.

According to Gittens, 32-year-old Walter Simon, a Richmond resident, was booked on one count of homicide and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The attack took place in the 300 block of Ellis Street around 12:03 a.m. According to Gittens, police believe Simon is responsible for three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of homicide.

Police do not know who was responsible for the other victim of the gunfire. According to Sgt. Steve Mannina, Simon was in a wheelchair when the shootings occurred. Police also took into custody a gun that they believe was used in the attack.

Officers working at the Tenderloin station heard shots shortly after midnight and ran to the scene of the attack in the 300 block of Ellis Street. They found five people shot and were able to take Simon into custody. Of the shooting victims, a 54-year-old woman was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where she died of her injuries. Her name has not been released by the San Francisco medical examiner's office pending the notification of her family. A 23-year-old woman from Richmond suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, Mannina said. The rest of the victims, a 50-year old man from Oakland, a 44-year-old man from San Francisco and a 25-year-old man whose residence is unknown were all taken to San Francisco General Hospital. They are expected to survive, according to Mannina.

In an unrelated incident, a man who was shot in the arm and abdomen around 4:19 p.m. Friday in the Tenderloin neighborhood later died in a hospital. The attack took place at Golden Gate and Hyde streets, according to Gittens.

Gittens reported earlier that a suspect in that fatal shooting was taken into custody, but as of today, there have been no arrests in connection to the specific charge of homicide. Several juveniles were arrested in connection to the attack, but none of the juveniles has been linked to the homicide, Gittens said.

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