Central District Shooting Investigation Leads to Arrests
Photo: Evidence collected during arrest | Courtesy of San Francisco PD
Story Originally Published By: San Francisco PD
“On Sunday, June 18, 2023, at approximately 7:12 P.M., San Francisco Police officers from Southern and Central Stations responded to multiple locations in the Southern and Central Police Districts for a report of a shooting that resulted in multiple vehicle collisions. Officers found three crime scenes at the following locations: Beach and Stockton Streets, The Embarcadero and Kearny Street, and The Embarcadero and Howard Street.
SFPD officers responded to the area of Beach and Stockton Streets when they received several reports that the occupants of a white sedan and the occupants of a black SUV were exchanging gunfire as they were traveling eastbound on Beach Street. The suspects continued to exchange gunfire as they drove through several city streets.
Three uninvolved victim vehicles were struck by gunfire in the area of Beach and Stockton Streets. A 48-year-old male victim inside one of the vehicles sustained non-life-threatening injuries when he was struck by broken glass that was shattered as a result of the gunfire. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
The vehicles continued to drive south on The Embarcadero. In the intersection of The Embarcadero and Kearny Street, the white sedan struck a 10-year-old female victim, and the black SUV struck a 16-year-old victim, both of whom were crossing The Embarcadero. The 10-year-old victim was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The 16-year-old was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries.
Both suspect vehicles continued south on The Embarcadero. At the intersection of The Embarcadero and Howard Street, the black SUV collided with a fixed object and came to a rest. The white sedan fled the scene. Officers detained the two occupants of the black SUV. The occupants were a 28-year-old female and a 33-year-old who were both struck by gunfire during the incident, and both were transported to a local hospital for treatment. The male was treated for life-threatening injuries and later released. The female was treated and later released for non-life-threatening injuries. The male had initially been arrested related to this incident but was later released pending further investigation.
Throughout their investigation, members of the Night Investigations Unit were able to identify the occupants of the Infiniti to be an auto burglary crew on a spree of auto burglaries throughout the Northern Police District and Central Police District, prior to the shooting incident. Three subjects in the Infiniti were identified as Richard Tuiasosopo, Xavier Pittman, and a male juvenile.
The San Francisco Police Department Night Investigations Unit collaborated with the District Attorney’s Office, Major Crimes Unit, towards the issuance of arrest warrants for the arrest of Richard Tuiasosopo, Xavier Pittman, and the male juvenile.
On 10/18/2023, members of the San Francisco Police Department Night Investigations Unit, Special Investigations Division, Fugitive Recovery Enforcement Team, Crime Gun Investigation Center, Community Violence Reduction Team, Burglary Unit, Tactical and Specialist Team, and Robbery Unit arrested Xavier Pittman and the male juvenile. Richard Tuiasosopo was already in custody at Santa Rita jail on charges unrelated to this shooting incident.
Search warrants were served in four Bay Area counties with the assistance of the Richmond Police Department, the Vallejo Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the South San Francisco Police Department.
Thirteen handguns, four assault-style rifles, and a large volume of ammunition were seized during the execution of these search warrants.
While arrests have been made, this remains an open and active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous.”
