A Bernal neighbor shared this sad story about a violent incident that happened over the weekend in Holly Park. Unlike the sanitized reports we receive from the SFPD, this provides the victim’s perspective on a very upsetting street crime:
Just to let Bernalwood know, my kid and some friends were violently assaulted and robbed at Hollly Park on Saturday night (October 5) at 10 PM. It was on the north side of the park, up where the little tables live along the third base side of the ball diamond at Bocana & Holly Park Circle
A bald white male was seemingly just walking by, and then all of a sudden, he punched my kid in the nose (two fractures), then asked for his backpack, wallet and phone. He was accompanied by a woman who actually was pleading with him not to do it, but didn’t or couldn’t stop him. He also took another kid’s skateboard. The kids were all 17-18 years old. They said he seemed hopped-up or drunk.
A police report was filed and my kid ended up at Davies Medical Cener via ambulance.
I just think there is some bad mogambo brewing over there lately, after the hit and run and all, and I feel people should be aware of it — and that this crazy guy is on the loose.
The amateur gumshoe in me thinks he is from around here, as it wasn’t gang-related, nor did it seem related to the near-by projects. Plus, the phone tracking thing lead to a scary-looking house on the 300 block of Richland for a few hours before the battery went out.
The main thing is that this was a seemingly random, and for-real violent episode that happened in our neighborhood.
Bernalwood 
Yow. That’s bad news. Hope they catch the fucker.
It’s a bit misleading to use the term “kids” to mean 17-18 year olds (the latter are, by the way, “adults”) — someone just skimming this post might assume people are beating up and robbing actual children. And yes, while all robberies are problematic/scary, it seems like common sense to me not to hang out in city parks late at night — I don’t think this incident should be taken as a sign that Holly Park is becoming more dangerous for the vast majority of people who visit the park during the day or early evening.
It is *NEVER* okay to get punched in the face and robbed—at any park, at any time of the day. Feeling safe in a community should not have restrictions. Also, no matter the age… a parent is always going to think of his kids as kids. So let’s ease off the semantics a bit and focus on the real issues here.
Agreed! I read the “Family” / “weekend” headline and had the strong impression that there were small children and their parents involved in a daylight robbery.
Clearly, violent crime is terrible no matter when it happens or who is involved, but an assault on older teens hanging out in a park late at night is a very different scenario than “family…violent weekend robbery” would lead me to believe.
So if it was a couple of 12 year olds who got beat up at noon on a saturday you were going to march in front of ingleside police hq but now that you learned it was 17/18 year olds at 10pm you’ll just pass it off as, “one of those things”?
Agree with Neighbor A. While any assault at any time is deplorable, a 12-year old attacked by an adult at noon is worse than a 17/18 year old hanging out in a park at 10 PM, because a 12-year old is more defenseless than a 17/18 year old is. Also, crimes committed in broad daylight seem worse than crimes committed under cover of darkness.
How horrible!? Sorry to hear that happened.
I was violently attacked near my home as a kid about that age and found it difficult to go outside afterwards. Taking martial arts classes helped boost my self confidence after the incident. Just an idea if the kids are feeling something similar.
UGH!!! Awful. Agreed that when my daughter is 18 I will still think of her as a kid. Also agreed that I grimly opened this posting, thinking I would hear about some kind of mid-day shooting at a birthday party. But MOST important is what kc!Bradshaw says about safety for ALL of us at ALL times. And we should make wise choices about where we spend our time and keep our wits about us, too. I’m so sorry these kids had to experience this trauma, both physical and emotional.
It is about these things happening in the neighborhood to people, regardless of age. A random act of violence, so what if they were teenagers. I am sure the family was shaken, as were the families of some of the other ‘kids’ that were there. For the record, 10 PM is not a middle-of-the-night thing, as well.
I agree with some of the commenters about the how the kids will, in the end, deal with the incident and trauma and hopefully become better, stronger people – but what A, g2-xxxx & GG are saying is mind-bogling and seemingly just trolling for reactions and complaining about the lede, which in this case certainly did its job.
I agree with everyone else that it is not OK for someone to cold-cock a person and then ask for their stuff. It is a drag that it happens anywhere, let alone in Bernalwood. As a grown non-teenage person, I would say who ever did this would probably do it to an older adult, as well.
I live across the street from Holly Park and an never happy to hear about violence there or any where in Bernal Heights. Caution is always called for at night. Make note that HP is closed at 10 p.m. to non-criminal and criminal types both. A few years ago, a party started up after 10 p.m., I waited an hour, called the police as the party grew larger. It too over an hour for a response.
The friends of the kid who was assaulted couldn’t follow the miscreant and notify the police?