San Francisco police arrested a man who allegedly stabbed a person multiple times Wednesday morning at a residential hotel in the Tenderloin.
Officers responded just after 11 a.m. to reports of a stabbing at The Windsor, a single-room occupancy hotel on Eddy Street, where they said they found a victim with multiple injuries. Paramedics took the victim to a nearby hospital, officials said.
The suspect fled the scene, police said, but was arrested a short time later. Charges are pending the investigation, officials said.
Officials have yet to release the name of the victim, who survived. However, the person appears to be an employee of the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing who was on duty at the Windsor when the incident occurred.
"A patient who is also a resident at the hotel busted into the case manager’s office, and I guess he was pretty agitated and stabbed them four times," said Cheryl Thornton, who learned about the stabbing from a member of Service Employees International Union Local 1021, to which she and the victim both belong.
Thornton told The Standard that "the person is going to be OK," that "they're going to survive."
HSH spokesperson Emily Cohen said that privacy laws prevented her from providing any additional information about the victim.
HSH works with a population experiencing trauma and other challenges, Cohen added. While challenging situations can arise, the agency takes violence "incredibly seriously."
Violent incidents like the one reported Wednesday are "a rare occurrence and this is not commonplace in our supportive housing programs," Cohen said. "We are doing everything with can with crisis support and victim service to ensure that staff and tenants are safe and supported."
As the sun set in the Tenderloin Wednesday night, little evidence remained at the Windsor of the violent attack. A security guard stood watch outside the hotel.
Lestor Lewis, a 42-year-old neighbor, said he used to live at the Windsor but had to relocate after eight years because he felt unsafe.
"This building feels unsafe," he told The Standard while standing outside the hotel waiting for a friend. "I had to get out of here."
According to Lewis, he has seen an improvement with workers at the hotel since he moved out in 2021. He now stays at the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation's building down the block at 201 Eddy St.
"They have a new little crew in there that are amazing," he said, adding that the workers are younger and seem more enthusiastic than their counterparts who staff the Windsor. "I just don't know where the fail happened."
While Lewis was speaking to The Standard, an argument broke out between two men on the street in front of the Windsor. The hotel's clerk, who did not want to talk to The Standard about the stabbing hours earlier, broke up the fight before getting into a shouting match with one of the men.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to clarify the source of the information given to Thornton.