Katie Ward
Staff Writer
Around 12:45 a.m. last Friday morning, a USF international student was shot during an altercation on Geary Blvd. near 5th Ave., just outside the popular student hangout, The Abbey Tavern. While watching a fist fight happening nearby, the student heard several gunshots, and looked down to see that he had been shot in the abdomen. He was released from the hospital earlier that morning in good condition, and has since been healing at home.
The student, who wishes to remain anonymous and was unavailable for comment, was first reached by SFPD. After he was rushed to San Francisco General, USF Public Safety is believed to have reached the scene. Director of Public Safety Dan Lawson stated, “I think one of our officers happened to be near the scene, and talked to one of the officers […] who said it may have been one of our students, but other than that we couldn’t get much information at that time.”
They received an official word from SFPD later that morning. “We actually didn’t find out until 9:00 in the morning because the Captain over at Richmond Station contacted us,” Lawson continued.
As of midday Monday, Public Safety has not been notified of any suspects under investigation by SFPD. “The last that we checked there were no descriptions of suspects, [or] of anybody even seeing a gun at that time. It was strange. […] The captain advised us that in his investigation, an officer interviewed a number of people who were at the scene, and nobody had seen a person or a gun displayed,” said Lawson.
“The student has received quite a bit of support. We had people from the International Student Office go and visit him on a number of occasions to determine how we was doing. He seems to be doing well at this time, he’s been offered all the services: CAPS counseling and psychological services.”
Those services are also available for anyone that feels they require treatment after the shooting. “We actually offered those services to students, faculty, and staff, but as far as I know […] nobody took advantage of the services,” Lawson continued.
Lawson believes the student will be ready to return to campus and a sense of normalcy soon: “As far as I know the student will be attending classes and will be trying to return to some normal life.”
