Man Stabbed near BART Embarcadero Station

Photo Courtesy by FOX2KTVU

SAN FRANCISCO – Police are investigating a fatal stabbing that occurred near the BART Embarcadero station after a man was found bleeding outside, resulting in a 30 minute closure at the station leading to an arrest. 

On Nov. 13, KRON4 News tweeted, “BREAKING: BART’s Embarcadero station in San Francisco is shut down after fatal stabbing, officials say.”

This stabbing incident comes after prior slashing on a train heading toward Antioch where a woman in her mid-50s had her neck slashed. This could possibly create a trend of knife crimes on the BART. 

Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie tweeted, “I’m deeply saddened to hear of yet another violent death in our city. Every resident and visitor deserves to feel safe, whether they are riding transit or walking our streets. Public safety is my top priority as we work to build a thriving San Francisco.”

A suspect was arrested for the incident. San Francisco Police Department tweeted, “Homicide update: Suspect in Nov. 13 stabbing near Embarcadero BART has been arrested. Thank you @SFBART Police for your assistance in this case” The suspect is 36-year-old Jonathan Calvin Wright after being caught on a BART line to San Leandro, charged with homicide. 

Amid concerns over safety on the BART lines, Kevin Kershu, Park Wide bike specialist, who takes the BART four times a week says the stabbing happened early in the morning and was over an iPhone 4. 

“You know, I heard it was over an iPhone 4. I live in a house with about 60 or 70 people that use the BART all the time. I have other friends at this facility and it really kind of held up traffic. It was kind of scary that it happened that early in the morning. It`s usually pretty quiet because I’m usually down there getting off the BART around seven and I guess it happened just at six,” Kershu said. 

A photographer who takes BART says this crime would have been an act for what people need to survive rather than materialistic objectives and it could happen to anyone possibly. 

“I mean I have an iPhone on me too, and, like, I could get stabbed for that too. I think, in any case, like, it’s. It’s less about, like, the items and more about, like, the things that people think they need to do in order to, like, survive,” Josh Gorello from Oakland said. 

Knowing that incidents like this could happen frequently on the BART raises concerns for taking the train. Specifically, this would be a concern for parents who have children who take this transportation because anything could happen. 

“Well, I mean, obviously it’s. It’s terrifying. It’s a scary thing. And I do have a young child who is traveling back and forth, and she meets her father at the heart station. And so that’s disconcerting to know that potentially she could be waiting to meet up with him and that there’s that kind of situation happening there and that there’s, you know, I’m putting her potentially in danger by riding public transit,” a concerned mother, who prefers to remains anonymous said. 

Bay Area Council Polls show that 53% of residents know someone who is a victim of a crime on BART, 46% have witnessed crime happening on it, 18% say they are a victim of crime on the BART and 44% rarely or never see a police officer patrolling BART.  Other polls show that robberies are higher than aggravated assault on BART, while 2020 was the peak for crime on BART, and has slowly declined over the last few years. 

If there was more police presence on the BART, there would be less incidents like these happening. BART needs to work to figure out how to enhance safety on the train to prevent further incidents like this from happening. 

During the pandemic, there was a decline in people who take the BART due to people working from home. Even though the number of BART riders have been increasing post-shutdown, people are still hesitant to take public transport due to the amount of crime. Incidents like this one are examples of why people are hesitant to take BART. 

Overall, it seems that the stabbing shows that even though crime is declining on the BART, anything can still happen. It is concerning because people could get stabbed for items relating to their means of survival. Incidents like this one could scare riders away from BART.