SF Restaurant Worker Dies After Apparent Mistaken Identity Shooting
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - A man who was shot after leaving work at a restaurant in San Francisco's Mission District early Tuesday morning has died.
The victim, identified by the medical examiner's office as Gaspar Puch-Tzek, 22, had just gotten off of work at Hog and Rocks restaurant at the intersection of 19th and San Carlos streets when he was shot at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Puch-Tzek worked as a cook at the restaurant, according to David Esler, one of the restaurant's owners.
Esler said Puch-Tzek and two acquaintances were standing outside the restaurant having a cigarette when two suspects approached and one shot him in the head.
He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital in critical condition and succumbed to his injuries later that afternoon.
The suspects were described as Hispanic men between 25 and 30 years old wearing dark clothing and hoodies. They were last seen running west on 19th Street away from San Carlos Street, police said.
Investigators believe the victim may have been mistaken for a gang member, which he is not, police said. The Police Department's gang task force, and now the homicide unit, is investigating the shooting, police spokesman Sgt. Mike Andraychak said today.
Esler said Tuesday that the victim worked two jobs, often leaving the restaurant late at night to start work at a nearby bakery at 4 a.m.
Puch-Tzek, who had worked there for about six months, was "really a well-liked kid," he said. "The kitchen staff is a tight-knit group, it's just really unfortunate."
Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call the Police Department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411.
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