San Francisco, CA
Sideshow turns destructive in San Francisco’s Sunset District, leaving neighbors shaken
A predawn sideshow in San Francisco’s typically quiet Sunset District spiraled into chaos Saturday morning, leaving a rented U-Haul truck burned, a nearby vehicle damaged and neighbors angry over what they described as a delayed police response.
The sideshow erupted around 4:30 a.m. at two intersections just one block apart — Kirkham Street and the Lower Great Highway, and Kirkham Street and 48th Avenue — according to witnesses. Neighbors reported cars spinning donuts, fireworks being set off and gunfire echoing through the neighborhood.
The U-Haul moving truck was set on fire near the intersection of Kirkham Street and 48th Avenue. Todd Brown, who had rented the U-Haul, said the noise of the loud sideshow woke him from sleep and sounded more like a racetrack than a residential street. “They were revving up their motors,” Brown said.
The situation escalated when some spectators vandalized Brown’s truck, breaking the front windshield and opening the door. From inside his home, Brown watched as people set the vehicle on fire.
“They were actually setting off Roman candles inside the car,” Brown said. “Here’s one of the Roman candles, right here.”
Brown said some people in the crowd appeared to be armed, prompting him to stay inside and focus on keeping the flames from spreading to his house. “There were too many people, I didn’t even want them to know that it was mine,” he said. “I was afraid the house was going to catch on fire. It was bad.”
Frightened neighbors said they repeatedly called police as the scene grew more dangerous. Witnesses estimated there were at least 100 participants and spectators.
Perry Jackson said he heard gunshots during the chaos. “[One guy] just reached into his waistband and ‘pop, pop,’ started popping off shots,” Jackson said. “That’s when we went ahead and called the cops and, ‘hey, not only do we have a sideshow, but they’re popping off shots’.”
Neighbors also reported spectators jumping on top of a parked work van, damaging its roof and windshield.
Many residents expressed frustration that it took police at least 20 minutes to respond. Jackson said officers told neighbors they were overwhelmed. “They were outnumbered,” he said. “I asked [an officer]. And he said there was only two squad cars, and so they had to wait for backup.”
Newly appointed District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong met with neighbors Saturday afternoon to address concerns and discuss possible solutions. “There had been suggestions from some of the neighbors about a potential roundabout or different rubber speed bumps to provide some environmental preventions from this happening again,” Wong said. “Then there’s the response side of things, being able to encourage and ensure that we’re fully staffed up in the police department.”
The incident comes as the city steps up penalties for sideshows. Mayor Daniel Lurie recently signed legislation cosponsored by Wong that doubles fines for participating in sideshows from $500 to $1,000.
Some neighbors say tougher penalties alone won’t be enough.
“They need to hire more police like they’re keep saying they’re hiring more police, but it’s not happening quick enough,” said Tony Villa.
As for Brown, he said he was able to salvage only a few kitchen cabinets from the U-Haul, losing most of the cabinets and furniture inside. Jackson summed up the mood of many neighbors: “I’m bumped out. It’s a drag.”
San Francisco police said one person was detained in connection with setting the U-Haul on fire, and that person’s car was impounded. Officers said they are continuing to investigate and are working to identify additional participants involved in the sideshow.
On Wednesday, San Francisco police closed the case of a missing woman who was last seen in the city in 1973.
Police said 27-year-old Cheryl Lanier was last seen in 1973 in San Francisco, and her initial missing person’s report was filed in 2010. For years, the department’s Missing Person Unit worked on the case, but it remained open and unsolved.
In July 2025, police said they received a tip out of Harris County in Houston, Texas, advising that a deceased “Jane Doe” could be Lanier. After a DNA analysis, police determined the “Jane Doe” was Lanier and closed the case after 53 years.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A Silver Alert was activated Thursday by the California Highway Patrol after an 85-year-old man was reported missing from South San Francisco.
Zosimo Carmen is described by authorities as 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 155 pounds. He has gray hair and brown eyes.
Carmen was last seen around 2 a.m. on Thursday in the area of James Court and Livingston Place in South San Francisco. He was wearing a brown flannel shirt and blue sweatpants.
The Silver Alert was activated for San Mateo and San Francisco counties.
Anyone who sees Carmen is asked to call 911.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Giants honor Willie Mays with highway designation on what would have been his 95th birthday
The San Francisco Giants announced a fitting tribute to one of the best players in the history of Major League Baseball on Wednesday afternoon.
Willie Mays, the legendary center fielder and Hall of Famer, would have turned 95 on Wednesday. And the Giants, in conjunction with Mays’ Say Hey Foundation, along with several other sponsoring parties, will be designating a portion of a local freeway as the Willie Mays Highway.
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Hall of Famer Willie Mays tips his cap during introductions for Game 1 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers in San Francisco on Oct. 24, 2012. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee/AP)
This designation will cover a portion of Interstate 80 where the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge reaches the city near Oracle Park, the Giants’ home stadium. Signs on I-80 have already been installed with the new designation, a way for Mays to become a permanent part of the San Francisco Bay Area and his home franchise.
Giants personnel spoke about the honor and what it meant to have a “reminder” of his infectious spirit and personality next to the stadium.
DODGERS’ SHOHEI OHTANI BLASTS HOMER IN WIN, ACHIEVES STATISTICAL FEAT UNSEEN SINCE WILLIE MAYS
“What an incredibly special way to honor Willie’s legacy,” said Larry Baer, Giants president and CEO according to MLB.com “For generations, this portion of I-80 on the Bay Bridge has carried Giants fans into San Francisco, and now it will forever carry Willie’s name—a lasting reminder of the joy and inspiration he brought to this city. It is also fitting that this same span of the bridge is named after former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown Jr., two great San Franciscans.”
San Francisco Giants players Orlando Cepeda and Willie Mays stand at the Polo Grounds in New York on Sept. 11, 1963, during a game against the New York Mets. (Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images)
Mays came to the Bay with the Giants in 1958, and has a list of accomplishments to rival any other player in MLB history. A 24-time All-Star, two-time MVP, 12-time Gold Glove winner and 660 home runs, the sixth-highest number by an individual player.
Jeff Idelson, the executive director of the Say Hey Foundation, also issued a statement celebrating the announcement.
“Wille was more than a baseball great, he was a part of the fabric that helped define San Francisco culture for more than a half century,” said Idelson. “Not only is this a fitting way to recognize his lasting contribution to the community, but it furthers Willie’s legacy as a national icon.”
Willie Mays visits PS 46 in Harlem, next to the site of the former Polo Grounds where the New York Giants played before moving to San Francisco in 1958, on Jan. 21, 2011, in New York City. (Michael Nagle/Getty Images)
One of the state senators who introduced the bill paving the way for this designation was Bill Dodd from nearby Napa, who also added, “I cannot think of anyone better to welcome people traveling across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco than Willie Mays. He was an inspiration to so many of us growing up. I was so pleased to have had a part in making this happen.”
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The combination of speed, power, defense and joy Mays played the game with is incredibly rare, which is why his legacy is still viewed with such importance today, nearly 53 years after he retired. Hopefully, the next generation of baseball fans will stay familiar with his career thanks to this reminder.
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