San Francisco Castro Walgreens employee arrested after allegedly stabbing theft suspect
Police in San Francisco arrested an employee at a Walgreens in the city's Castro District early Wednesday after he allegedly stabbed a man who was seen taking merchandise from the store, authorities said.
According to a release issued by the San Francisco Police Department, at around 4:35 a.m. Wednesday morning, officers patrolling the 400 block of Castro St. were flagged down regarding the alleged stabbing.
Officers found a male subject who appeared to be suffering from injuries sustained in a possible assault. They rendered aid and called paramedics to the scene.
During their investigation, officers learned that the male subject was seen fleeing from a store in the area with unpaid store merchandise. Authorities said the male subject and a store employee engaged in a verbal confrontation outside of the business that turned into a physical altercation.
Video from the SF Bay Times Castro St. camera showed the subject exiting the store followed by a security guard and a man who appeared to be wearing a blue Walgreens smock. The video shows the men fighting in the street in two instances.
During the first altercation, the men appear to exchange blows. The man who allegedly took the merchandise then walks across Castro before coming back towards the store.
In the second altercation, the men appear to exchange blows and the shoplifting suspect falls to the ground. Police are later seen arriving and parking in front of the Walgreens on Castro.
The pharmacy chain store released a statement that said, "Walgreens is aware of the incident and cooperating with the police in their investigation."
The employee declined medical attention. Police developed probable cause to arrest the employee, identified as 45-year-old Guang Hong. They also arrested the male retail theft suspect, identified as 30-year-old Larry Whitlock.
Hong was booked into San Francisco County Jail for assault with a deadly weapon. Whitlock was cited for battery and petty theft. He was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Chris Murray often goes to the Walgreens in the Castro. CBS News Bay Area showed him the surveillance video of what happened outside the store overnight. He was shocked.
"You know I feel really bad after seeing what I just saw," said Murray.
He told CBS News Bay Area he recognized Hong on the video and has seen him working behind the counter at the store many times.
"I'm pretty surprised to see him do something like that. But like I said, these people deal with this every single night," said Murray.
Kevin Reilly often sits outside the Walgreens on Castro playing his bass guitar. He said he's not at all surprised something like this happened here.
"The security guards aren't allowed to touch people because of the shooting that happened on Market Street with the security guards at Walgreens. So they're unable to touch people and they're not allowed to carry arms," said Reilly.
He was referring to a security guard who was arrested after allegedly shooting a young person during an altercation at a Market Street Walgreens in 2023. Police initially arrested the guard, 33-year-old Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, following the fatal shooting of 24-year-old San Francisco resident Banko Brown, but District Attorney Brooke Jenkins declined to file charges against Anthony.
Both men said the Castro Walgreens in particular is a frequent target of shoplifters.
"You go in there and they don't even try and hide it. They go in with their bags open and just start scooping the aisle into the bag," said Murray.
While arrests were made in the case, it remains an open and active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.
