Man charged with eight counts of attempted murder after series of violent attacks on pedestrians in San Francisco

A California man stabbed, ran over and attacked several pedestrians and firefighters in San Francisco. The attack lasted more than three hours, authorities say.

Anthony Carl Sheldone, 42, of Brownsville, California, was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the unprovoked attacks that began shortly after 7 a.m. on Sept. 1, the San Francisco District Attorney's Office announced in a news release Monday.

According to prosecutors, Sheldone first attempted to attack several people while driving his car on Haight Street. He allegedly ran over a person walking a dog at a crosswalk, then drove into oncoming traffic and physically attacked a person waiting at a bus stop.

He then allegedly ran over two people crossing the street at the intersection of Stanyan and Fulton streets, prosecutors said. Sheldone then ordered a woman to remove her clothes, and when the woman's husband confronted him, Sheldone stabbed the man, prosecutors said.

He then attacked two first responders from San Francisco.

More than an hour after his rampage began, Sheldone ran over a 70-year-old pedestrian crossing the street at the corner of Van Ness and Golden Gate avenues, prosecutors allege. He was eventually taken into police custody after climbing a 30-foot tree and jumping back into the street, court records show.

According to prosecutors, Sheldone was charged with eight counts of attempted murder, seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, one count of criminal threat, one count of attempted assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault causing injury to emergency responders, two counts of assault on a police officer, one count of fleeing on the street and one count of fleeing from an officer with willful disregard.

The case against Sheldone is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.”