An 18-year-old who volunteered regularly with the Latino Task Force and was considered a future leader was shot and killed Friday afternoon inside the Mission Recreation Center on Harrison Street.
Damien González was described as a “good kid … always ready to help” who was soon to become a father. He had a small T-shirt business and, while he graduated last year from Civic Center Secondary School, he spent most of his high-school years at John O’Connell High School.
Teachers and friends from O’Connell gathered at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Friday to grieve, according to a source who said that no one could believe that González had been shot and killed.
It appears that González was at O’Connell to meet friends on Friday afternoon. At some point, the group went to the nearby Mission Recreation Center at 2450 Harrison St. to play basketball on the second floor. It was there that another young man, wearing a hoodie and a black ski mask, according to different accounts, went up the stairs and targeted González.
It is unclear if any of the administrators or managers from the center were on the second floor at the time of the shooting.
A student and volunteer at the high school said the school went on lockdown immediately after the shooting.
In a statement, San Francisco police said officers responded to the 2400 block of Harrison at 3:03 p.m. on Friday and found “a victim suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.” The officers rendered aid and called paramedics, who transported the victim to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. He died there, the statement read.
No arrests have been made at this time, the police said, and the city’s homicide unit is leading the investigation.
Arturo Carillo from the Street Violence Intervention Program, a city unit that responds to shootings and killings in the Mission and other neighborhoods, arrived on the scene to see the Rec Center blocked off by crime scene investigators, he said. He said the victim was a “youngster well-known to the community.”
He said “there was a prayer at the hospital last night,” and that “several family members were being offered services.” Details around the shooting were not immediately clear, he said, but there will be a community meeting on Monday “to talk about, ‘How do we support the families?’ and to find out about what was the cause, could there be retaliation, was this a personal thing?”
A ‘bubbly spirit’
One parent, who said his daughter attended John O’Connell with the victim, said González was a “community helper” involved in different groups in the Mission, and “a kid doing good.”
“My son just went on an educational trip to Alabama and New Mexico with him a few weeks ago,” the parent said.
Tracy Gallardo-Brown, a leader in the Latino Task Force, said González was always ready to help. He had just been at an event at the end of July, giving backpacks away to young students. “He didn’t really have any enemies,” she said. “Usually in the Mission, we know more than the police; no one knows anything right now.”
Gallardo said the victim’s partner was pregnant, and González had been excited about being a father.
“We wanted to college-bound him,” said Gallardo-Brown, who is also an aide to District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton. At the hospital on Friday, there was “just a deep sadness.” She explained that he had gone to Civic Center Secondary School to finish off credits that he missed because of the pandemic.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support his partner and his future child.
Jon Jacobo, a Mission community organizer, had worked with the victim in the past, and knew him as a “bubbly spirit.”
“He was always, always willing to help,” he said. “The number one thing was he was always willing to help, from minor things to helping families that needed support for translation, even if the Spanish was a little bit harder for him.”
Jacobo said that he had run into González just a few weeks ago at City Hall when Mission nonprofits pressed for more funding in the city’s budget; González had told him he was there trying to get more resources for the community. “He was just in and around, doing budget advocacy stuff, and I bumped into him at City Hall,” he said. “He had a big smile on his face.”
Surveillance footage
Trevor Chandler, a candidate for District 9 supervisor, shared home surveillance footage of the moments after the shooting, which showed a man in blue jeans and a black hoodie and mask hiding out beneath his stairwell. The footage shows the man walking towards Chandler’s staircase a block and a half from the Rec Center, near 22nd and Harrison streets, at 3:04 p.m.
The man sits around speaking on his cell phone, according to Chandler, occasionally peering out at the street. Chandler said that at 3:11 p.m., the man entered a silver “SUV type” car that sped off toward Alabama and 22nd streets.
Near 5:20 p.m., according to Chandler, officers knocked on Chandler’s door and taped off the area to investigate. Detectives looked into the corner where the man sat, the footage showed, and Chandler said they dusted the scene for fingerprints.
Supervisor Hillary Ronen said in a statement that she was “dismayed and frankly angry by this gun violence at a public park, and will be working with community and City Officials to do everything in our collective power to stop this from happening again.”
As of Saturday morning, the Rec Center was closed until further notice, according to a sign posted on its front door. Neighbors were saddened that the incident had occurred in their local gym.
“The whole neighborhood embraces it. People go there all the time; it’s a positive place for everyone,” said Elvis Saintogo.
“It’s a good neighborhood gym, and it’s great for the youth,” added Stella, who lives across the street from the center. She said she hears sirens frequently because ambulances and fire trucks use Harrison as a thoroughfare, but “when I looked outside and saw the fleet of emergency vehicles outside the Rec Center, I was really surprised.”
Additional reporting by Lydia Chavez, Annika Hom and Gilare Zada.
Crime is trauma and the county offers different services, which can be found here. Victims of violent crime can also contact the Trauma Recovery Center at UCSF.
Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support Gonzalez’s partner and his future child.
Knew ML would come through with some details whereas the Chron and SFS can’t be bothered – thank you
So tragic 🙁 Sending love and strength to family and friends.
The second shooting with an 18-year-old victim from John O’Connell in two months, the other taking place two blocks over.
My sympathies to Damien’s family and friends.
Is there a go fund me page?
https://www.gofundme.com/f/damiens-unborn-child?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet&utm_medium=qr_code&utm_source=customer%20(https://www.gofundme.com/f/damiens-unborn-child?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet&utm_medium=qr_code&utm_source=customer)
https://gofund.me/149fba35
Ashley —
When we know of one, we will publicize this.
Yours,
JE
My condolences to his friends and family rip
My condolences sad about this tragedy. I’m a John O’cconell Alumni class of 72 we never had that kind of violence on campus .It was a very nice environment vibe.RIP Damien Gonzalez 🙏🏽
Great reporting on a tragic event. The SF Gate coverage was content free.
does the family have a gofundme?
https://gofund.me/149fba35
We haven’t yet heard of one, but we will let you know when we find out. Thank you, Lydia
Quite a few shootings in the Mission District and it always comes as a complete shock and utter surprise. Who on Earth could have possibly perpetrate such an outrageous crime against the community? Rest assured, the police will have a suspect in custody soon enough. And, it’s as likely as not that they’ll be released, pending further investigation. Meanwhile, the local Supervisor solemnly promises that no effort will be spared to prevent such crimes from occuring in the future; while a nonprofit leader recalls the victim’s undying interest to raising funds for community nonprofits.