S.F. mugging victim shot in face, survives

[alp227]

(02-13) 17:59 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A 45-year-old man is recovering after being shot in the face early this morning during a mugging in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood, police said.

The victim had been walking near the intersection of Third Street and Palou Avenue at about 2 a.m. when a man confronted him with a gun and demanded money, police Sgt. Michael Andraychak said.

The victim refused and was shot once in the face, Andraychak said, with the assailant grabbing his wallet and fleeing.

(snip)

...the victim picked the suspect, 57-year-old Charles Sullivan of San Francisco, out of photo lineup.

Investigators believe the victim, whose name was not released, may have known Sullivan, Andraychak said.

Sullivan was booked into San Francisco County jail on suspicion of attempted murder, robbery, being a felon in possession of a firearm and other gun-related counts, police said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/13/BADB1HMKPN.DTL

Yikes. Sullivan was a felon illegally carrying a gun? What's that say about gun enforcement?

[MrModerate]

1. That guns are so common that anyone can get one?

I also note that the victim apparently knew the assailant, which is a common theme in these cases.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

2. I thought in California... ALL sales have backround checks through dealers?

As a felon, he should not have been able to legally buy that gun. Where/who did he get it from?

[sharesunited]

4. Don't be silly. Unless we are willing to shut down the gun trade for everyone, no one is safe.

[TPaine7]

3. Well at least the victim was legally disarmed. Adding more guns to the situation would just have

escalated the violence.

And, as I am sure someone will bring up shortly, you should always follow the criminal's orders. Just like cops, felon's orders are to be obeyed without question.

On a related note, only criminals and cops can bear arms in SF. I wonder how long it will be before the obligation to obey criminal orders is codified into law? Right now it's an informal rule, and informal rules can be confusing to good citizens looking to do the right thing.



Do I really need the sarcasm thingie?!

[sharesunited]

5. You're refusing to deal with the obvious. Guns are too easy to obtain by EVERYONE.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

6. And how can that be changed in the next 100 years?