One dead in Fort Funston triple shooting

Bay City News Service

August 22, 2006

In an apparently random act of violence, a man shot two park visitors in San Francisco's Fort Funston yesterday evening in front of at least a half-dozen witnesses before killing himself, U.S. Park Police spokesman Rich Weideman said.

The victims, whose names have not been released, were taken to San Francisco General Hospital.

"I understand one is in serious condition, and one is stable," Weideman said tonight.

The shooter died at the scene.

The incident happened just before 7:00 p.m. in an area between a deck used by hang gliders and a walkway to the park's parking lot. It was a fairly crowded early evening at Fort Funston, a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area popular with both hang gliders and dog-walkers.

"Most of the dog-walkers were a few hundred feet away," Weideman said.

According to witness reports, a man opened fire without provocation on two park visitors. One of the victims was standing in the area, the other was either sitting on a motorcycle or standing next to it in the parking lot.

"It seemed random," Weideman said.

The man then turned the gun on himself.

Weideman said the man had been in the parking lot area for several hours, and had attracted the attention of both the U.S. Park Police and an off-duty San Francisco police officer.

"They had kept an eye on him for awhile because he had been just wandering around, not paying attention to much, just walking around with no purpose," Weideman said.

Police suspect the man was a transient and there doesn't seem to be a vehicle associated with him, Weideman said.

The FBI is combing the scene tonight along with the U.S. Park Police. Because the area is under federal jurisdiction, those two agencies will lead the investigation with assistance from the San Francisco Police Department, Weideman said.

"We have more than a half-dozen solid witnesses that saw it occur," he said, adding that one of the witnesses was a hang glider who was flying above the attack.

The parking lot was about half-full with 35 cars when the attack occurred, Weideman said. Fort Funston is located in southwest San Francisco at Skyline and Lake Merced boulevards.

Copyright © 2006 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

####