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San Francisco police arrest suspect in Cathedral Hill elder attack

A pair of handcuffs on a wooden surface.
San Francisco police arrested a 21-year-old man in connection with an attack on a senior woman in San Francisco on Thursday. | Source: Bernd Wüstneck/Picture alliance via Getty Images

A 21-year-old man was in county jail after his arrest on suspicion of multiple charges in connection with a violent attack on an 81-year-old woman in San Francisco last week.

San Francisco police said officers from the department’s Northern Station responded to Franklin Street between Ellis and O’Farrell streets in the city’s Cathedral Hill neighborhood around 2:20 p.m. Thursday for a reported assault.

When officers arrived, they spoke to an elderly woman who told them she had been walking near Franklin and Myrtle streets around 5 p.m. the day before when someone shoved her off the sidewalk.

The shove sent her into the roadway, where she landed in a traffic lane and hurt her head, she said. The woman managed to get to a hospital for treatment of her injuries.

Investigators soon found surveillance camera footage capturing the shove, and shared it with officers.

Around 11:22 a.m. Saturday, officers responded to a call about a person carrying an edged weapon. After finding and detaining the person, officers recognized and arrested him on suspicion of the earlier assault.

The person, identified as Curtis Dubbels, was booked into San Francisco County Jail just before 3 p.m. Saturday on suspicion of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, elder abuse and three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Despite a suspect’s arrest, police said the investigation into the incident remains active and open.

George Kelly can be reached at gkelly@sfstandard.com

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