Protesters target mayor over crime in SF's Bayview neighborhood

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- With a rash of shootings marking the start of summer violence, San Francisco Bayview Hunters Point residents went to City Hall to demand more resources to help deal with the surge in murders. Families with loved ones who died in shootings and other violence in the Bayview are demanding the mayor do more to help reduce the crime where they live.

The people who went to City Hall Tuesday live in districts with some of the highest crime rates in the city and many of them take this escalating gun violence personally.

Shawn Richards and other residents of Bayview were at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting lobbying to get support for immediate action that could stop the escalating violence.

Rudy Corpuz heads a gang intervention group. "You got a lot of people frustrated. You got a lot of anger in the communities. It's just a combination of a lot of things. If you put it together, it would be a problem," he said.

The grassroots protests started shortly before noon on Tuesday. "It's time to stop the killing and start the healing, I want to hear you say it, stop the killing, start the healing," one woman said.

Community activists from the Bayview gathered at City Hall to ask for help. They asked for more police patrols, more money to fund projects for kids and more help to find the killers. "I want the city to put in surveillance cameras, quality surveillance cameras across the public housing, all the recreational facilities and public facilities," Brothers Against Guns spokesperson Shawn Richard said.

It started June 27 with the shooting death of a former gang member who was trying to turn his life around. The murder happened in front of dozens of children, including his 10-year-old son.

Then, over five days during the July 4 holiday weekend, nearly a dozen people were shot and five died.

Paula Brown was at the rally. Her son was shot to death eight years ago and still doesn't know who killed him. Brown takes every new shooting personally. "When we watch or hear about another young man or young girl getting murdered, it makes us relive our children's death," she said.

The group wants Mayor Ed Lee to act immediately to stop the violence. "I'll definitely take on the demands of these residents and we'll be down there trying to implement as many as we can," Lee said.

In the meantime, many people in the Bayview are frustrated and angry and wondering when the next shooting will come.