A Castro district Walgreens employee and an alleged thief were both arrested March 19 after an altercation early that morning.
San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Robert Rueca stated to the Bay Area Reporter that at 4:35 a.m. that morning, officers patrolling near the Walgreens on Castro Street at 18th Street "were flagged down regarding a stabbing." The Walgreens location is the only one in the city that's open 24 hours.
"Officers met with a male subject who appeared to be suffering from injuries associated with a possible assault," Rueca stated. "Officers rendered aid and requested paramedics to the scene."
The officers discovered that the man who'd flagged them down had been "observed fleeing from a store with unpaid store merchandise."
"The male subject and an employee engaged in a verbal confrontation outside of the business that turned into a physical altercation," Rueca continued. "The employee declined medical attention at the time."
The SFPD arrested Larry Whitlock, 30, on charges of battery and petty theft, and he was transported to the hospital for what Rueca described as "non-life-threatening injuries." Officers also arrested Guang Hong, 45, for assault with a deadly weapon.
KNTV-TV reported Whitlock had been stabbed in the eye, and played video footage of the incident.
Though arrests were made, anyone with information is asked to contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.
This incident comes shortly after a brutal March 9 beating of in front of the Castro Theatre, which the B.A.R. reported on last week.
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