Skip to main content
News

‘Machine Gun’ Fire Rocks SoMa in Apparent Drive-By Shooting

Written by Matthew KupferPublished Feb. 27, 2023 • 3:44pm
A shooting occurred at the intersection of 9th and Howard streets in SoMa on February 27, 2023. | Morgan Ellis/The Standard

An apparent drive-by shooting rocked San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood Monday afternoon, shocking locals and leaving a block riddled with bullets. Police are on the scene and investigating.

Residents of an apartment building at the busy intersection of Ninth and Howard streets say it sounded like machine gun fire.

One man, who declined to give his name, said he was working from home when he heard 30 to 50 shots fired.

“I kind of thought it was a car backfiring, but then I saw some people just booking it down the street,” he said. “It’s fucking scary.”

READ MORE: 130,000 San Franciscans Protected by Just 4 Cops Every Night, Supervisor Says

Next, he saw a white Mercedes—“a nice sports car,” he said—with a broken window speed the wrong way down Howard Street. 

Police were more cautious in describing the incident.

Luke Martin, a San Francisco police captain in charge of the crime scene, said it appeared that a vehicle was driving north on Ninth Street when one or two people started shooting.

“There’s a lot of shell casings in the street,” Martin said. “As of right now, we don’t have any victims.”

SFPD Captain Luke Martin discusses the incident at the site of the shooting at Ninth and Howard streets in SoMa. | Morgan Ellis/The Standard

But residents of the apartment building at the intersection believe that people in one car fired at another. 

They are still reeling from the incident.

“Our neighborhood just got hosed down with gunfire,” said a woman, who declined to give her name. “I was just here, and 30 seconds later, I heard gunfire. I was saved by angels today.”

“You were being protected, I swear,” another man said.

Morgan Ellis contributed additional reporting for this story.

Matthew Kupfer can be reached at mkupfer@sfstandard.com


San Francisco Man Wrongly Convicted of 2008 Murder Could Get $900,000 Payout From City

San Francisco Man Wrongly Convicted of 2008 Murder Could Get $900,000 Payout From City


San Francisco Lululemon Mass Retail Theft Sees 2 of 9 Suspects Charged

San Francisco Lululemon Mass Retail Theft Sees 2 of 9 Suspects Charged


An aerial view shows the Cordilleras Creek Bridge over Highway 101 in Redwood City.

Highway 101 Closure: SFO Traffic Chaos Expected as Road Closed for 3 Days


Racist, Antisemitic Speech Disrupts San Francisco City Hall Meeting

Racist, Antisemitic Speech Disrupts San Francisco City Hall Meeting


Trains wait on tracks 5 and 6 for passengers at the Caltrain Station in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 18, 2019. Business leaders and transportation officials are putting together a sales tax ballot measure for next year that would generate billions for transportation infrastructure in the Bay Area. Top on their wish list is the downtown extension of Caltrain, with a tunnel running from the Mission Bay Area to the Transbay Terminal.

Caltrain Happy Hour: Toast Bay Area Transit at This BYOB Train Event