On July 4th at about 12:50 a.m., officers responded to a reported shooting in the 100 block of James Street. When they arrived, they found the victim, an Asian male in his twenties, on the ground bleeding from a wound to the back of the head.
Initially, it was believed that he had been shot as there was one gunshot heard and his wound was bleeding fairly profusely. However, witnesses at the scene later reported that the victim had in fact been pistol-whipped by two young Asian male suspects. Each suspect was armed with his own semi-automatic pistol. Fortunately, the victim’s injury was not life threatening. SFD medics examined him at the scene and transported him to Harborview for further treatment.
Gang Unit detectives were present at the scene, and they took charge of processing it. Officers recovered one fired bullet that had apparently struck the ground without hitting anyone or anything.
Witnesses at the scene reported that the incident began as an argument between two groups of revelers at a nearby nightclub. Both groups left the club, and the argument flared up again on the sidewalk. One suspect produced a pistol and struck the victim in the head. The other suspect followed suit, but he fired a round while striking the victim. This appears to have been accidental. The suspects and their female companion then fled the area on foot westbound. It is not clear if they had a vehicle nearby.
