San Francisco police release tragic video of tourist Paul Tam being murdered in street by mugger
PUBLISHED : Monday, 28 March, 2016, 8:52am
UPDATED : Monday, 28 March, 2016, 8:52am
Associated Press
A British tourist who was stabbed in the head during a mugging in San Francisco has died after being hospitalised for more than a month, said police, who released a video of the deadly attack taking place in the middle of a street amid traffic.
Paul Tam, 48, of Manchester, died Thursday at San Francisco General Hospital, where he was taken after the February 18 attack, San Francisco Police Officer Albie Esparza said.
Police on Saturday released a video showing the stabbing , as they appealed for witnesses to the murder to come forward.
Tam was walking with his niece when he was attacked by a couple. Tam tried to hold onto his messenger bag but was stabbed in the head by the male suspect, Esparza told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The video showed Tam backing away from his attacker into the street where their confrontation blocked traffic. Tam tries to run around a car to escape his attacker but is tackled by the mugger who then stabs him in the middle of the road.
An image from a video provided by San Francisco police shows British tourist Paul Tam backing away from a mugger (foreground), moments before the hooded man stabs Tam in the head. Photo: San Francisco Police Department
British tourist Paul Tam runs for his life, pursued by a mugger armed with a knife. Photo: San Francisco Police Department
“As he is going around the vehicle he falls down, it’s at that point that the suspect not only wanted to take the victim’s bag, but he wanted to take his life,” an Francisco Police Officer Carlos Manfredi told local elevision station KGO.
Tam’s niece, who is from Southern California, was not injured, Manfredi said.
Police have yet to make an arrest in the attack, which is now being investigated as a homicide.
The San Francisco Police Officer’s Association is offering a US$5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the two suspects.
