Gun Used by Undocumented Immigrant in S.F. Belonged to Federal Agent
The investigation into the seemingly random execution of a San Francisco woman walking down a pier with her father took an interesting turn this week: authorities say the gun used in the shooting was stolen from a federal agent.
The case is full of strange details—the suspected gunman, Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, was reportedly living in the U.S. illegally after being deported at least five times. And it’s still unclear why he shot the victim, 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle, who was on a walk with her dad when she was killed July 1.
(The case has ended up heightening debate over deportation policies—Sanchez was apparently released from a San Francisco jail earlier this year despite his immigration status, drawing criticism from prominent politicians on both sides of the aisle.)
Now, investigators say, they’ve matched the weapon’s serial number to a gun stolen from a federal agent the month before. Via the San Francisco Chronicle
The gun used to kill a 32-year-old woman on San Francisco’s waterfront was stolen from a federal agent in a car burglary in June, sources close to the investigation said Tuesday.
Other sources said the weapon was apparently not the agent’s official gun. It was reported stolen in an auto burglary in the downtown area, they said.
Sanchez, for his part, claims he found the gun on the pier and never meant to fire it.
He told two television stations who interviewed him in jail that he found the gun used in Steinle’s killing wrapped in a shirt on the pedestrian pier she was walking on. Sanchez said the gun went off in his hands, and his public defender, Matt Gonzalez, said Tuesday that the San Francisco woman’s death appeared accidental.
He’s been charged with murder.
