One arrested after multiple shots fired into church in South San Francisco, no one injured

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - A South San Francisco neighborhood is rattled after several shots were fired at a church.

Police say no one was injured -but neighbors and parishioners are concerned. Police arrested Debari Charvel Augustine, 22. He was booked into Maguire Correctional Facility on suspicion of attempted murder in the first degree and shooting at an inhabited dwelling. 

Surveillance video from a nearby home captured audio of 18 shots fired just before 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Saint Augustine Catholic Church on Callan Boulevard.

The glass double doors at the church entrance were shattered, several surrounding windows had multiple bullet holes in them, and police evidence markers were scattered outside the door.

SkyFOX flew above the scene just after 4 p.m. where there was a large police presence and tape sectioning off the area. 

Police in South San Francisco say multiple shots were fired at a church in South San Francisco. January 30, 2024. 

"This feels so frightening, and like, I’m honestly shocked about how this happened," Eighth-grade student Gyan Robles said.

Robles was baptized at the church, has attended mass there his whole life, and is an altar server there.

"It feels like a hate crime," Robles said. "Like what did a church ever do to you? I mean like, right?"

Robles said he was in P.E. class outside, at nearby Westborough Middle School, which went into ‘secure campus’ mode, hurried students inside and locked the doors.

Police say no one was inside the church during the shooting and no one was injured.

"I’m kind of scared right now," Antonio Macalino, who grew up in the neighborhood, told KTVU.

Macalino got an alert on his smartphone from the Westborough Middle School principal, informing him that no one was being allowed on or off campus where his son goes to school.

"Soon as my kids got out of school, somebody texted me that there’s an active shooter here."

Surveillance video obtained by KTVU shows a dark-colored car speeding away, and then a truck driven by a construction crew, also leaving in a hurry.

One construction worker, who did not want to speak on camera, described the shooting as "wild."

Neighbors were stunned.

"Never happened before," Huijun Yan, who lives a couple of doors down from the church said. "I know it’s a safe area. I’ve been living here 15 years."

Police shut down part of Greendale Drive and left after about five hours of investigating.

Police have not said whether Augustine drove away or walked away from the shooting, but they did confirm he never made it inside the church.

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of San Francisco said Wednesday mass was canceled, and catechism classes are canceled for the rest of the week.

Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to contact police.