Government

Drive-by or Targeted Potrero Hill Attack Kills One, Wounds Several

Two separate shootings in Potrero Hill left two men dead and a third critically injured near 25th Street; police have identified a 32-year-old suspect and issued murder warrants.

James Thompson2 min read
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Drive-by or Targeted Potrero Hill Attack Kills One, Wounds Several
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Police swarmed the blocks around 25th and Connecticut and the first block of Dakota Street after two separate shootings that left two men dead and a 49-year-old hospitalized with life‑threatening injuries, authorities said. The first attack occurred around 10:10 a.m., and the second happened about 12:25 p.m., according to police accounts of the scenes in Potrero Hill.

At the 10:10 a.m. scene near 25th and Connecticut, officers found a 61-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds; he was taken to a hospital and later died, the city's Medical Examiner's Office said. The Medical Examiner is withholding the 61-year-old man's name pending family notification. At the Dakota Street scene roughly two hours later, officers found two more male victims: a 49-year-old man with life‑threatening injuries who remains hospitalized, and a 54-year-old man who later died and was identified by the Medical Examiner as Randy Armstrong of San Francisco.

San Francisco homicide investigators have obtained three warrants related to the incidents, two on suspicion of murder and one on suspicion of attempted murder, and have named 32-year-old Robert Newt as the suspect, police said. "Newt is considered armed and extremely dangerous," the department warned, noting he is known to frequent the city's Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhoods.

Police have released a photo of Newt and urged anyone who spots him to take note of his location, vehicle and clothing and to "avoid approaching him and to take note of his location, vehicle and clothing and immediately call 911." Investigators asked people with information to contact the Police Department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or to text TIP411 with "SFPD" at the start of the message.

Separate local reporting and earlier dispatch logs indicated both the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco Fire Department responded to the scenes and that bullets or gunfire caused damage in the 25th Street area; one local outlet reported multiple vehicles and buildings were struck. Homicide detectives continue evidence collection and witness canvassing in the Potrero Hill blocks around 25th, Connecticut and Dakota as they work to tie the two scenes together.

Investigators emphasized the manhunt is active and that the public should not approach the suspect. The Medical Examiner's identification of Randy Armstrong and the withholding of the 61-year-old's name underscore ongoing notifications to families as detectives complete their notifications and the warrant process. Police said they continue to take tips and are asking anyone with video or information from the 25th Street corridor to come forward immediately.

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