Market Street stabbing victim leaves hospital as San Francisco police ID assailant
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - A man shot and killed by San Francisco police on Market Street Wednesday has been identified, just a few hours after his alleged victim was released from a local hospital.
The medical examiner's office.identified the assailant as Nicholas Flusche, 26. The man whom Flusche allegedly attacked during a dispute over a sandwich was released Wednesday from San Francisco General Hospital, police said. Police did not publicly identify the Subway sandwich shop worker.
Flusche was shot at 11:22 a.m. in the 900 block of Market Street after two beat patrol officers came across a stabbing in progress, according to police Chief Bill Scott.
The officers moved to intervene after they saw one man stabbing another, and "at least one" officer opened fire, Scott said.
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Flusche, who was allegedly stabbing the other man, died at the scene. The stabbing victim was taken to a hospital and was expected to survive his injuries. Witnesses say a cart full of clothes and other items belonged to Flusche, who appeared to be homeless.
a GoFund me page has been created to cover Flusche's funeral costs. His social media pages show that he was originally from Texas and was part of a large family. Instgram and Twitter posts show Flusche was once a bodybuilder and worked as a security guard.
The two officers involved in the shooting on Market Street have been placed on routine paid administrative leave, pending an investigation.
The shooting was the second officer-involved shooting for San Francisco police this year, and the first to involve a fatality.
It is also the first to occur since Scott was sworn in as chief of police in late January. His predecessor, Chief Greg Suhr, resigned in May of last year following an officer-involved shooting after sustained public protest and calls for reform.
"Loss of life is tragic, doesn't matter how it happens, it's tragic," Scott said Wednesday. "These things, we try to avoid them as much as we can, but we have an obligation to protect the public."
Police have said they will hold a town hall meeting to provide further information on the shooting within 10 days.
KTVU was the first to report Wednesday that the officer who shot Flusche on Wednesday was the same officer who shot San Francisco resident Sean Moore at his own home in the Oceanview District four months ago.
The San Francisco Public Defender's Office released police body camera video last week showing Moore, 42, in a shouting match with the two officers who were called to his residence on Jan. 6 for a noise complaint filed by a neighbor.
Police said Moore was physically combative and punched and kicked the two officers.
Public Defender Jeff Adachi has called into question the officers' response procedures, which he said were a failure. Police shot Moore twice before he retreated into his home to call 911.
"He's gun happy," said Cleo Moore, Sean's mother, in reference to the officer who shot her son. "He likes to shoot. He needs to be trained. He needs to learn how to take care of people that are in distress."
Police have not officially released the name of the officer who shot Moore and was involved with the fatal shooting of Flusche in downtown San Francisco.
Moore faces charges for aggravated assault on a police officer. Last week, a judge dropped eight of 10 other charges that had been filed.
And a judge on Thursday decided to release Moore on his own recognizance. Cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom.
It's not immediately clear if the new information about the officer who also shot Flusche will have any bearing on Moore's case.
"To me it's troubling that it's the same officer but at the same time, I don't know the facts of what happened yesterday," said Brian Pearlman, a public defender who is representing Moore.
Prosecutors did not comment on the officer and is pushing forward with the charges.
"We have two different rulings from two different judges," said Alex Bastian, a spokesperson for the San Francisco district attorney's office. "Both of them are contradictory toward one another and we're seeking clarity from the bench in order to determine what our next steps are."
Pearlman maintains his client's innocence, saying Moore ha told his mother not to post bail.
"He was willing to sit in and fight the case," Pearlman said. "So that his mother wouldn't be out $10,000."
Pearlman says Moore was happy to be released from jail after spending almost four months behind bars. His next court appearance is set for May 10th.
KTVU reporter Tara Moriarty and Bay City News contributed to this report.