UPDATE: Gun in deadly San Francisco tourist shooting owned by federal agent
UPDATE 7.7.15 – A law enforcement official says the gun used in the seemingly random slaying of a woman on a San Francisco pier belonged to a federal agent.
The official who was briefed on the matter says a police check of the weapon’s serial number shows it belonged to a federal agent. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official declined to elaborate further.
Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez pleaded not guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder in last week’s shooting. Sanchez told two television stations he found the gun wrapped in a shirt on the pier.
Authorities say Sanchez is in the United States illegally and has been deported five times.
San Francisco officials released him from jail in April, ignoring an Immigration and Customs Enforcement request to detain him so deportation proceedings could begin.
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It’s one of San Francisco’s busiest tourist destinations –– Pier 14 — where people gather to take in the waterfront views, and where families push strollers at all hours.
Now it’s the scene of a fatal shooting of a woman, allegedly by a man who police say she didn’t know.
The killing of Kate Steinle, 23, happened Wednesday evening, while there was still daylight. Photos taken by witnesses helped police arrest the suspect, Francisco Sanchez, about an hour later while he was walking on a sidewalk a few blocks away.
Police spokesman Carlos Manfredi said witnesses heard no argument before the gunfire, which suggests the incident was random.
The victim’s mother tells the San Francisco Chronicle that the killing was unbelievable and surreal. She said her daughter pleaded with her father for help after she was shot. He began CPR before paramedics rushed her to the hospital. Police say she died at San Francisco General Hospital two hours later.
The area is one of the busiest tourist destinations. Steinle previously lived about 40 miles east of San Francisco. She recently moved just blocks from the waterfront and worked for a medical technology company.
