Castro Stabbing: Man Found With Knife In Chest In San Francisco Street As Crime Rate Grows

A man was found dead lying on the sidewalk with a knife sticking out of his chest Monday in the popular Castro District in San Francisco, California. Officials found the man at around 2:54 p.m. in the area of 18th and Diamond streets, San Francisco police spokeswoman Officer Giselle Talkoff said.

It's unclear if the man was the victim of an attack or if the wounds were self-inflicted. The man was not identified, local media reported. He was found dead a block away from Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, a neighborhood elementary school.

The Castro District also saw a stabbing in May, when the victim was stabbed in the neck while waiting for public transit. In the most recent stabbing, the man appeared to be in his 60s. Local transit was shut down in the area while the street was closed for the investigation.

San Francisco has seen a recent bout of crime in its neighborhoods. Crimes such as murder and nonnegligent homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft and arson jumped by 15.3 percent last year, in part because of a 17.55 percent increase in property crimes, local media reported in March. Homicides grew from 45 in 2014 to 52 in 2015. Gun violence, however, dropped by 6.15 percent.

“The Police Department continues its successful strategies to reduce violent crime with an emphasis on collaboration with other City departments as part of the Mayor’s Street Violence Reduction Team Initiative,” officer Albie Esparaza said in a press release. “This citywide effort focuses on the prevention of violence through strategic intervention efforts in those neighborhoods most impacted by homicides and violent crimes. The initiative not only focuses on enforcement efforts, but brings together a variety of City departments to provide resources and support for those impacted by violent crime, especially victims and young children.”

The Castro neighborhood was made famous after it was settled by gay servicemen discharged from the U.S. military for being gay during World War II. The Gay Pride Movement of the 1960s helped turn it into an area for fashionable people, straight or gay.