My 'Hood

Last night two women were arrested outside my door for either a DUI or something drug-related. Their black Escalade was also towed.

A little under 2 weeks ago a young man was shot at killed 2 blocks from me in a seemingly random act of violence, and the police hung up posters asking for help in their investigation.

Then, this popped up on SFist today (happened last Wed):

SFist Blotter: Valencia Street Stabbing Edition

A female was attacked on Valencia Street last Wednesday. It happened to the friend of an SFist contributor, both of whom would prefer to remain anonymous. Here's what went down:

Last Wednesday night, after a wonderful evening with friends I was walking home around 12:30 am. I was just a few blocks from my home and I was assaulted [between 15th and 16th on Valencia Street]. Two men in a large light colored van pulled up, the passenger got out and took my bag and stabbed me in the neck, then took off. From what I can remember I dropped immediately to my knees then began crawling up Valencia St.

Within moments I was found by a woman who screamed for help and stayed with me, wrapping my neck in her scarf. From there, it was a whirlwind of sirens, gurneys, and lights in my face. I arrived at SF General where they determined with a cat scan that the cut was about 1 1/2 inches deep and had cut into one of my main arteries. They needed to operate. The operation took about 3 hours and they were able to stitch together the artery and assessed that no damage had been done to my esophagus or my tracheal... good news.

This attack failed to make any crime blotters as far as we can tell. Also, no arrests have been made.

I feel safe in most parts of my neighborhood. My BART stop is prone to crackheads (I actually saw some smoking crack the other day, out in the open), and there are certain blocks I tend to avoid, like dark side streets. I don't walk around alone, or I bike most places. It just seems that there has been a sudden wave of violence in the city, and my neighborhood is affected somewhat (less than others, though). It speaks to the lackadaisical nature of the SF police force that they can successfully tow big SUVs but can't seem to make arrests stemming from violence. I dunno, this isn't meant to be a rant on the nature or causes of violence. I just find it interesting that I feel completely comfortable in my neighborhood, and yet these kinds of things are happening in such close proximity.

In other news, my 27 year old roommate Greg managed to walk in on me in just a bra and underwear while blow drying my hair. Hilarity/blushing ensued.