Assault, Attempted Homicide, Catalytic Converter Theft, Conspiracy: 4600 Block of California Street, Jan. 17, 4:22 a.m.

Richmond midnight units responded to a report of a catalytic converter theft in progress.

Richmond Station officers, driving a marked black-and-white patrol car, spotted the suspect vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but was unsuccessful.

The suspect vehicle took off and the officers lost visual contact. A grid search was conducted.

Additional officers spotted the suspect vehicle driving recklessly with the car’s headlights off. It then came to a stop near a sidewalk. As the two-man Richmond unit got closer to the suspect vehicle, three suspects were seen exiting the vehicle. The suspects then began running in two different directions.

Officers followed the two suspects fleeing, which led to a foot pursuit where the two suspects split off again, in separate directions. During the foot pursuit, one of the suspects fired several shots at the officers. The officers heard the shots and saw the muzzle flash. The gun was discarded to the ground and recovered. The suspect continued running from police while officers were giving lawful commands to stop. The suspect grabbed a rock, smashed an access window with it, then jumped down 20 feet to the subbasement level of large building.

A perimeter was set up. SFPD declared it a critical incident which brought specialist teams, tactical teams and a hostage negotiator team to the scene, along with a multitude of officers and investigators.

The officers that were shot at had no injuries and were taken to a safe staging area where all available resources were available for them.

One of the suspects was detained, identified and later arrested after a thorough investigation. The suspect vehicle was recovered with 5 cut-off catalytic converters, a floor jack and cutting tools inside. No collateral damage to any persons or vehicles were observed or reported. The case was assigned to the Investigative Unit.

Aggravated Assault with Force, Elder Abuse: 600 Block of 47th Avenue, Jan. 26, 10:58 a.m.

The victim, a 91-year-old female, was gardening outside in front of her house. Security video of the incident shows the suspect (unprovoked and without speaking) walk up to the victim from behind. The victim was crouched down, tending to her garden with her back to the suspect. The suspect then punched the victim in the head with a right fist and then walked away. The victim fell forward to the ground sustaining a two-inch cut above her right eye that required several stiches.

The investigating sergeant assigned to case reviewed video and canvased the area. While in the area of the incident, the sergeant recognized the suspect from security video walking on the sidewalk. The suspect was detained, identified and arrested after a thorough investigation. The suspect was wearing most of the same clothing from the incident of the vicious assault.

In an interview, the suspect mentioned using drugs, being up for five days and hitting the victim in order to go back to jail. The suspect said he did not feel bad.

Discharging a Firearm in a Grossly Negligent Manner, Terrorizing by Interfering With Religious Worship, Terrorist Threats: 3600 Block of Balboa Street, Feb. 1, 7:20 p.m.

A representative of a Jewish synagogue reported that a suspect entered the synagogue the previous night after worship while members were having dinner. The unknown suspect spoke “broken Russian,” then pulled out a gun and started shooting.

Witnesses said no one was injured and there was no damage to property. The suspect made a reference to “Mossad” before walking out. Victims said they believed this was a possible hate crime directed towards Jewish people or Israel. All victims felt very threatened by the suspect firing shots and what the suspect said.

SFPD believes this person to be the same suspect from an SFPD case on Jan. 31 who walked into the Balboa Theater on 3600 block Balboa Street and brandished a firearm (but did not discharge the weapon).

SFPD Special Investigation Unit confirmed suspect’s ID and address along with multiple firearms registered to the suspect. A search warrant was obtained, and a plan was formulated to safely execute the search warrant.

The suspect was detained leaving his residence without incident and was later arrested. A search revealed evidence related to the incidents, which was seized. The suspect is believed to be the same subject for both incidents. The case was assigned to the Special Investigative Unit.