Potrero Hill gunfire ends with man near death

Responding to reports of gunfire at approximately 10:20 p.m., officers reported to the scene at the Potrero Hill public housing projects on the 1000 block of Connecticut Street. When they arrived, a black male was lying on the ground, with a bullet wound in his shoulder, according to John Loftus, captain of the Bayview Police Station.

The man had trouble speaking and was unable to provide any information about what provoked the incident, Loftus said. The officers treated the crime scene but no suspects were identified, and police are uncertain about the motive for the shooting, Loftus said.

The man was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, which has seen a rise in gun and knife crimes since 2003, according to statistics from San Francisco General Hospital. In 2007 — the most recent available data collected by the public hospital — 234 victims were brought in with gunshot wounds, more than doubling the amount in 2003, when there were just 110.

The housing projects at Potrero Hill in particular have been a hotbed for crime, according to police data. During the last 90 days, the police department has recorded 164 reports of various crimes near the projects — not including homicide or shooting incidents. The last homicide in the projects came in May, when 41-year-old Victor Carson died after being shot in the neck.

wreisman@sfexaminer.com