A random stabbing on the busy Stockton Street corridor has shocked the community; the 38-year-old suspect has a long criminal history in Chinatown

SAN FRANCISCO — A 22-year-old young man preparing to cross a busy intersection in San Francisco's Chinatown in broad daylight on March 5 was stabbed in the back and critically injured. The 38-year-old suspect, known to the Chinatown community for a decade due to his past criminal record and mental illness, was arrested minutes after the stabbing. Both the victim and the suspect are Chinese Americans. 

As of March 7, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) has not released any information regarding the victim or suspect in the stabbing incident that occurred at 1:04 p.m. on March 5. 

Multiple sources confirmed to Wind Newspaper that the victim is a 22-year-old Fremont resident from the East Bay. The suspect is Jian Feng Huang, 38, who has lived in San Francisco's Chinatown for over a decade.

Sources also told Wind Newspaper that the stabbing attack was random. Huang did not know the victim. However, Huang is known to the Chinatown community, especially within the family association community, because of his criminal conduct involving vehicle vandalism, window smashing, and arson. Huang had a decade-long history of mental illness.

Nearby surveillance cameras captured the frightening stabbing that occurred on March 5 at the busy intersection of Sacramento and Stockton streets in Chinatown. It happened at lunchtime and more people were walking on the streets.

After news media outlets released the surveillance video capturing the incident, people were so shock to see the stabbing. The footage has gone viral around the globe. Numerous comments have been posted on social media platforms. 

Surveillance footage indicated that the suspect, dressed in all black with his hoodie on, was walking south on the west side of Stockton Street between Clay and Sacramento streets. When the suspect reached the corner of Stockton and Sacramento streets, he pulled a knife from his right side and stabbed the young man in the back who was waiting for the pedestrian light to turn green.

According to the surveillance footage, the victim made no eye contact or verbal exchange with the suspect during the entire brief incident. The suspect stabbed the victim in the back, causing him to fall to the ground.

In the early moments after the stabbing, the footage showed eyewitnesses and others leaving the scene, except for one man who stood next to the victim while waiting to cross the street. That eyewitness stayed at the scene and apparently used his cell phone to call 911.

After stabbing the victim, the suspect kept walking quickly south into the tunnel connecting to Union Square. A short time later, deputies from the San Francisco Sheriff's Department spotted the suspect in Union Square and took him into custody.

Some social media users reposted the surveillance footage online and questioned why very little help was offered to the victim who fell to the ground.

"As horrible as this stabbing is, the failure of anyone to help the victim is horrific!" One user commented. "This used to be the society that runs to help, not walks away and avoids suffering. Is it because of immigration and people from other places not caring about each other??"

"Man gets stabbed, and ZERO people rush to help him..." another user posted on X.

Amy, a local store owner near the crime scene, disagreed with the commenters. "Many of us store owners were trying to help the victim. Luckily, a nurse passed by and walked up to save the young man's life," said Amy.

Amy didn't witness the incident. She recalled speaking to her customers in the back area of the store when the stabbing occurred. All of a sudden, she heard someone say loudly, "Oh my God, oh my God." She rushed out to the street and heard the nurse asking for an ice pack to stop the victim's bleeding.

Amy saw blood pouring out from the victim's back. "I didn't have an ice pack, but I have frozen dumplings in the freezer. So I gave the dumplings to the nurse and put a pillow under the victim's head," said Amy.

Police officers arrived at the scene very quickly. Amy said many store owners surrounded the victim and tried to help. "Officers told us to back up so they could have more room to do their job."

At the scene, Amy heard the victim told the nurse his name. "Once a shocking incident like this occurs, people at the scene are also panicked, worried and frightened, which prevents them from reacting quickly enough to take action. They might not know how to save a life," said Amy.

"I hope people understand that the Chinese community is also a loving community that cares for others," Amy added.

A restaurant owner who wanted to remain anonymous told Wind Newspaper that Huang had just finished lunch at her restaurant immediately before the stabbing. 

According to the restaurant owner, Huang had been her patron for some time and always dined alone. On March 5, Huang had lunch in her restaurant and spilled chili sauce on the ground. Huang made phone calls prior to leaving the restaurant.

The restaurant owner heard about the stabbing after it occurred and felt so sorry for the young male victim. But she didn't know it was Huang until she saw the surveillance footage in a television news report that night. 

"It was the same clothing he was wearing in our restaurant," the restaurant owner recalled. "I hope the young man survives and fully recovers."

According to Chinatown community members, Huang became known to the community 10 years ago at age 28 due to a string of his criminal conduct in Chinatown. In 2016, seven vehicles parked on Waverly Place, an alley in Chinatown, had their windows smashed. In January 2017, two family associations were vandalized, one had a glass door smashed. In March 2017, the Single Room Occupancy (SRO) unit where Huang resided caught fire. The SFPD determined it was an arson that seriously damaged his and other SRO units in the Wong Family Association Building on Waverly Place.

Huang's father is a leader within the Chinatown family associations. His parents are divorced and his biological mother lives in the East Bay with his sister. In the past decade, Huang has been in and out of jail and moved between different apartment units in Chinatown. 

Simple ways to save people's lives: apply shirts or towels with direct pressures to the wounds

Dr. Joseph Woo, President of All American Medical Group (AAMG) and a trained emergency physician, provided a short and simple way to save other people's lives, such as in the stabbing incident on March 5.

"If you see a victim of a stab wound or other bleeding injury, the first thing to do is to make sure that you and the scene are safe. Don’t put yourself in danger, then Call 911." said Dr. Woo. "If the wound is bleeding heavily, it’s important to stop the bleeding. Someone can die in less than 5 minutes."

"Apply direct pressure to the wound with whatever you have: a cloth, shirt, towel, or gauze," Dr. Woo said. "The pressure needs to be firm and it may hurt. Don’t stop until directed by EMS."

If it is a leg or arm wound, a tourniquet may be needed. "Apply that above the wound if you know how." Dr. Woo also encouraged community members to take a ‘Stop the Bleed’ course hosted by the American College of Surgeons to learn more about saving lives from bleeding.