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‘Extremely alarming’ social media posts lead SFPD to massive ammo cache and Nazi armbands

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins | Camille Cohen/The Standard

A San Francisco resident was convicted of a felony this week after “extremely alarming” social media posts supporting Nazis and mass shootings led police to uncover an ammunition stockpile and gun-making parts in her possession.

Thor Kill, 45, was first arrested in April 2021 after police found firearm- and bomb-making materials, body armor, boxes of ammunition and armbands with Nazi symbols at a SoMa storage facility, court records show.

Kill, who is referred to using she/her pronouns and was formerly known by a different name, was ultimately charged and later convicted by a jury on one felony count of illegal possession of ammunition by a prohibited person.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced the conviction Friday, saying that Kill would be prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition for the rest of her life and was also ordered to hand over all ammunition and gun parts.

She was sentenced to two years in state prison, but is no longer in custody having served time in jail since her arrest in April 2021.

Attempts to reach Kill by phone were not successful, and her attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

Thor Kill's Facebook page. | The Standard

The investigation into Kill began in early 2021 when two people in the firearms industry sent tips to San Francisco police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

According to one tip, Kill tried to buy 25 pounds of “black powder” from a company that sells supplies to historical Civil War reenactors and wanted to ship the powder to a P.O. box in California, court records show.

When an employee asked about the nature of Kill’s reenactment activities, she responded, “someone is going to shoot you for asking those kinds of questions,” according to court records.

A month later, a BB gun manufacturer told police that Kill left comments on his company’s Facebook page from her profile with a name listed as, “Thor Killu.”

A police officer who received the tip viewed Kill’s profile and found it “extremely alarming,” court records show.

“There are numerous photographs of Anti-semitic/hateful photos, photos regarding shootings, mass shootings, and incidents involving violence” on Kill’s Facebook page, the officer wrote in a report.

A Facebook post on Thor Kill's page. | The Standard

One of the photos appeared to show military ammunition cans “stacked 2 rows, 4 high, with an ‘Ammo’ press,” the officer wrote.

“Thor Killu feeling happy because there was a mass shooting in Colorado,” one post read on a social media account belonging to Kill, records show.

Another post about a shooting of 18 people at a Walmart remarked, “Good work. Keep it up.”

A post on Thor Kill's Facebook page. | The Standard

In April 2021, police executed search warrants at a hotel room where Kill was staying in Japantown and at her storage unit in South of Market.

Police say they found large amounts of ammunition, firearm parts, tools for manufacturing firearms, and armbands with Nazi symbols.

Kill was born in San Francisco and is a longtime city resident, her attorney Chris Garcia wrote in court filings.

In March 2022, Garcia argued that Kill should be released from jail because she was not a danger to public safety or a flight risk.

“Ms. Kill does not use alcohol or drugs, likes to keep to herself, and is averse to conflict,” Garcia wrote. “Kill describes herself as a gamer and enjoys playing games on her phone in her free time.”

Despite the charges, Garcia said there was “no indication that she possessed any firearms with which to use the ammunition.”

“Ms. Kill instead had the items as a collection, and had no intent to use the ammunition.”

But Kill also has a documented history of violent behavior.

In 2010, Kill was arrested for allegedly smashing a woman’s head into the side of a San Francisco bus shelter as she waited with her brother and aunt.

The victim told police that Kill spit on her and cursed her out, but largely appeared to be “talking nonsense.”

“[S]uddenly, I felt my head being smashed on the glass side or the metal side of the waiting area,” the victim wrote in a statement to the police. “And [Kill] saw me bleeding, and told me I deserved it.”

A court found Kill incompetent to stand trial and committed her to a mental hospital. 

In 2012, after undergoing treatment at the mental health hospital, Kill was ultimately convicted of misdemeanor battery in the case.

As a result of that conviction, Kill was barred from owning firearms for 10 years.

Michael Barba can be reached at mbarba@sfstandard.com

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