San Francisco police released video Tuesday showing a man brutally assaulting a 78-year-old man in broad daylight. Now, they're asking the public for help finding the suspect.
The video shows a man in a black hooded sweatshirt cross Natoma Street in the SoMa District and, without warning, knocks the victim -- a 78-year-old man, who was walking with a cane -- to the ground.
The incident happened just after 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 8, police said.
The suspect fled on foot and an employee from a nearby business helped the injured man back on his feet.
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He was taken to a hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
“When I saw that video I was completely horrified,” said Senator Scott Weiner.
Weiner, whose district includes San Francisco, thinks there needs to be a zero tolerance policy for that kind of violence.
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“We have seen assaults like this on the streets of San Francisco particularly directed at our seniors and it's disgusting, we need a policy that if you act like this you're going to get arrested, you're going to get prosecuted,” said Weiner.
San Francisco police are asking the public for help locating the suspect, who they describe as a white or hispanic man in his late 30s to early 40s with a short beard.
He was last seen wearing the clothes in the video--- a black sweatshirt with the word "King" written in white, a white shirt, and black and white sneakers.
Anyone with information helpful to this investigation is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to tip411.
