Plus: California health officials are warning people against eating foraged mushrooms after nearly two dozen poisonings, most happening in the SF Bay Area.
On December 5th, a social worker at San Francisco General Hospital was stabbed in the neck by a patient. At about 1:30 pm this past Thursday afternoon, staff at Zuckerberg SF General Hospital called for security after a patient was seen expressing threatening behavior toward one of their on-duty doctors. Security was quickly joined by when the patient violently stabbed the UCSF social worker in the neck, leaving the victim in critical condition; the violent patient was quickly apprehended by authorities.
“While providing security for the doctor, our sheriff’s deputy heard a disturbance unfolding in the hallway involving the suspect, who was attacking a social worker,” the SF Sheriff’s Office said in a Thursday night statement. “The deputy intervened immediately, restraining the suspect and securing the scene.”
The victim was later identified as 51-year-old Alberto Rangel, a staffed social worker with UCSF, and Mission Local reported 35-year-old Wilfredo Tortolero Arriechi was identified as the assaligne who was arrested and booked Thursday on charges of “assault with a deadly weapon, mayhem, and being armed during the commission of a felony,” according to a statement by the San Francisco Police Department.
A vigil honoring Rangel was held Sunday evening. KTVU reported friends, family, and those wishing to pay respected crowded the event; colleagues like Maddy Auble say “he changed people’s lives” and that there are people alive today because of him — “for him to lose his life at work, when he was there to provide services to patients, is not right.”
The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) released a statement Sunday saying the department will conduct a “top-to-bottom investigation” into possible security vulnerabilities that might’ve allowed this tragedy to happen. SFDPH has announced it has immediately increased sheriff’s deputies and security staff in the building where the attack occurred and has expedited the installation of metal detectors.
What else transpired over the weekend? Let’s take a look.
- Big changes are coming to the Golden Gate Ferry. The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District board approved more than $118 million in contracts last month, all of which will kickstart ferry service’s modernization program, which will see, among other updates, five boats in its current fleet replaced with clear-running, more modern ferries. More info.
- We’re all still emotional about Claude. Cal Academy has been inundated with love letters, paintings, emails, and other forms of adoration in the wake of the 30-year-old alligator’s passing; some of these works will be displayed to the public soon. More info.
- Y’all … stop foraging for mushrooms without proper training. The California Public Health Department has sent out a PSA, basically stating that people outside professional circles shouldn’t be collecting wild mushrooms, after the department received an unusually high number of 21 amatoxin poisonings, with one death reported and another patient requiring a liver transplant; most of the reported cases were found in clusters around Monterey and the Bay Area. More info.
