Customer bloodied after trying to stop shoplifting at San Francisco Walgreens

A Thursday evening confrontation over shoplifting at a troubled San Francisco pharmacy led to a customer being badly beaten by an assailant and shocked bystanders filming a blood-covered crime scene.

Police say that a patron of the Walgreens store in the city’s Laurel Village district was concerned to see a thief stealing merchandise and attempted to intervene. The suspect responded violently, punching the customer in the face, head and hand while holding an object believed to be a pen, which punctured the victim’s skin and spattered blood across the pharmacy entrance.

A video of the aftermath of the attack was subsequently posted to the Nextdoor website, where one user noted that a security guard was present at the store but was on a break at the time of the incident.

SFPD’s Richmond Station Captain Kevin Lee said the victim was treated by paramedics but declined to be taken to the hospital.

“The suspect, who was wearing a motorcycle helmet, fled on foot northbound on Spruce Street toward Sacramento and is believed to have left the area on a scooter or motorcycle,” Lee added in a statement this afternoon.

Lee said he plans to assign a dedicated foot patrol officer to Laurel Village as soon as staffing levels allow – mirroring existing beats dedicated to the Clement Street and Geary Street commercial corridors.

“The safety of our patients, customers and team members is our highest priority,” insisted a Walgreens spokesman today who said that they were cooperating fully with law enforcement.

Residents report a decline in safety and an uptick in quality-of-life concerns around Laurel Village in recent months with a visible increase in volatile and violent mentally ill, aggressive panhandling and street homelessness.

Shoplifting is endemic at the pharmacy located at 3601 California. The Walgreens pharmacy located at 745 Clement closed in late 2021 amid what the owners described as “ongoing organized retail crime.”

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