Members of the Castro Merchants Association learned about the killing of a 19-year-old man at Mission Dolores Park late June 5 at their monthly membership meeting the following morning.
San Francisco Police Captain Thomas Harvey, who oversees Mission Station, said the young man's death was apparently due to a dispute.
"There was some sort of an argument," Harvey told the merchants about what led to the shooting. "There are some leads in the case. Hopefully, there'll be an arrest made shortly."
Harvey said he "can't give out too much information," but according to SFPD Public Information Officer Eve Laokwansathitaya, officers responded to the 500 block of Dolores Street (between 18th and 19th streets) at 10:09 p.m. Wednesday night.
"Officers arrived on scene and located an adult male victim laying on the ground suffering from gunshot wounds," according to an SFPD news release. "Officers began rendering aid, including cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Paramedics responded to the scene and rendered aid as well. Despite life-saving efforts by first responders and medical personnel, the victim was pronounced deceased at the scene."
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified the victim as Luis Manuel Arguello-Inglis, a San Francisco resident. His family started a GoFundMe "to help cover the unexpected expenses that come with such a devastating loss," that has raised $40,145, exceeding it $10,000 goal, as of press time Tuesday.
"We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved son, Luis, was tragically taken from us on Wednesday night," the GoFundMe states. "Luis was a bright light in our lives, filled with love, laughter, and boundless potential. His loss has left a void in our hearts that can never be filled. As we navigate through this unimaginable pain, we are reaching out to our community for support."
The Bay Area Reporter reached out to the family but has not heard back. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Arguello-Inglis was a graduate of Lowell High School, on the city's westside, and had finished his freshman year at San Jose State University. The family told the paper he'd earned an EMT certification. His father, Irving Arguello, said, "I miss my son and I think the world is missing out on a good human being."
Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman told the Bay Area Reporter after the meeting, "I don't think we have much more than the police put out, that there were multiple gunshot wounds and he died on the scene."
When asked if it was an isolated incident, Mandelman said, "I don't think we know" yet.
"I think, certainly right now, there's going to be a need for an increased police presence around the park, especially while they're finding out what happened, and that's a hard thing to do when we're significantly understaffed," Mandelman said. "It's disturbing, I'm concerned, and am hoping they are able to apprehend the suspect as soon as possible."
On the morning of June 6, Levi's heir and former nonprofit executive Daniel Lurie — running for mayor against incumbent London Breed — held a news conference at the park to critique Breed for saying "San Francisco is back" in spite of street violence.
"This tragedy occurred on the heels of the mayor declaring mission accomplished," Lurie stated to the B.A.R. "It just goes to show how out of touch City Hall insiders are with the crime that San Franciscans are experiencing in our neighborhoods."
Breed campaign spokesperson Joe Arellano said Lurie's event was inappropriate.
"Daniel Lurie is so desperate for media that he's resorting to ambulance chasing and politicizing tragedies," Arellano said. "This type of behavior is unbecoming of anyone, let alone someone who wants to be mayor."
The SFPD's homicide unit is leading the investigation; anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.
Updated, 6/6/24: This article has been updated with comments from Mayor Breed's campaign spokesperson.
Updated, 6/11/24: This article has been updated with the identification of the victim.
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