Attack by an alleged sex worker on San Francisco homeless woman caught on camera
SAN FRANCISCO - Neighbors in San Francisco's Mission District expressed outrage on Monday over a vicious attack on a homeless woman this weekend that was captured on video. The aggressor, an apparent sex worker, is now under arrest. Residents pointed to the attack as just the latest incident involving prostitution on their block of Shotwell Street.
"I suddenly heard shouting and swearing, and it really sounded like a fight," said a neighbor who filmed the attack early Saturday evening and asked to remain anonymous. "I saw them grab this woman by the hair and throw her to the ground…and then at some point, she got up, and kicked the woman right in the face."
The neighbor called police, who arrived and arrested a 24-year-old woman from Fairfield. The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
"What happened is not an accident. Right before that, there was like one person who was attacked two days ago. There was another person who was attacked," said neighbor Ayman Farahat. "This just happened to be the one that was on tape."
Farahat and other residents say the problem has only gotten worse since the city put up barriers to deter prostitution along nearby Capp Street.
"All the trade moved to Shotwell," said Farahat. "There are literal traffic jams from the sex trade that is going on here."
Trevor Chandler, a nearby resident and candidate for San Francisco District Nine Supervisor, called on the city to do more to address the problem.
"I fully support license plate readers. It’s a common sense proposal that has been provided to City Hall and the neighborhood has gotten no response," said Chandler.
A petition launched by Farahat, demanding the installation of readers in the neighborhood, has now been signed by more than 200 people.
"Give the law enforcement an additional tool that they could use, because it’s not reasonable to assume that we can have them come here all the time," said Farahat.
In a statement, San Francisco Mayor London Breed's office touted the success of recent police operations targeting prostitution in the area, and added that moving forward, "all options are on the table, including the strategic placement of public safety cameras, street and other physical environment changes, and of course, increased enforcement as well."
"What we’ve heard is, we don’t have enough staffing, it’s not a priority," said the neighbor who filmed the attack. "My feeling is at least manage it, and move it to a non-residential neighborhood."
