SFPD officer’s gun stolen during car break-in, used in homicide

A San Francisco police officer’s personal gun was stolen from his car last month and used to kill a man just days later, raising questions as to whether the officer complied with local gun control laws.

The weapon was stolen from a veteran officer’s personal vehicle Aug. 12, according to police and the San Francisco Police Officers Association. Three days later, the firearm was used to shoot 23-year-old Abel Enrique Esquivel, Jr. near 26th Street and South Van Ness Avenue.

Police are not releasing the identity of the officer, but SFPOA President Martin Halloran said in a statement that the officer is a “highly decorated veteran.” Halloran also said the killing was “gang-related.”

This is the second known time in recent years that a law enforcement officer has left their firearm in a vehicle that was later burglarized in San Francisco, leading to a homicide.