The shooting between the Forest Hill and Castro stations appears to be an isolated incident, police said.
By NBC Bay Area staff
One person was killed and another was hurt in a shooting on a Muni train in San Francisco Wednesday morning, police said.
The shooting, which police said appeared to be an isolated incident, happened at about 10 a.m. between the Forest Hill and Castro stations. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The other victim was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The suspect fled from the train at the Castro station and remains at large, San Francisco police Officer Kathryn Winters said. Police said the suspect is a man seen wearing dark clothes, including a hooded jacket.
According to a Muni spokesperson, a gate agent at the Forest Hill station heard gunshots as the train left the station and then called 911. Police rushed to the Castro station – the train’s next stop – and found the victims but not the suspect.
Police were trying to determine if there were any potential connections between the suspect and the victims and were also looking into what led up to the shooting.
“Sounds like there was an altercation between folks who may have known each other inside the subway between Forest Hill and Castro,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said. “Somebody got a gun. There was at least one gun. One person was, I believe, dead on arrival by the time they got to Castro Muni.”
Investigators were also scouring images from cameras on the train and at the Castro station.
“We do have high quality cameras not only on our trains – and we have multiple cameras on board – but we do have cameras in our stations as well,” Muni spokesperson Erica Kato said. “So, all of that security footage has been turned over to the police department.”
Police did not order a lockdown of the neighborhood and said they did not believe residents or businesses were in immediate danger. They were also quick to address concerns that the shooting happened days before hundreds of thousands of people are set to gather for the city’s Pride celebrations.
“I also want to assure the community that this incident does not appear to have any connection to Pride events or does not appear to target the LGBTQ community,” Winters said. “We really want to make sure that our community members and visitors who are in town for Pride week understand that.”
Anyone who witnessed the shooting is asked to contact San Francisco police.
Muni subway service in the area was stopped while authorities investigated. Service resumed at about 2 p.m.