One of North Beach’s most beloved residents was shot Sunday afternoon during a dispute in the San Francisco neighborhood, police said.

The victim, identified as Roy Mottini by witnesses at the scene, was in an argument with a driver who got out of his car, shot Mottini in the shoulder and sped off, KGO-TV reported.

Police said the altercation started at 2:32 p.m. at Columbus Avenue and Vallejo Street near Buster’s Cheese Steak restaurant. The shooter “pulled out a handgun and shot the victim in the upper body,” said Sgt. Monica MacDonald, a police spokeswoman.

Mottini, who is in his 60s, was treated at the scene with a shoulder wound and taken San Francisco General Hospital. He expected to survive, police said.

Witnesses say Roy Motini got into an argument in a NB crosswalk, hit a car with his cane, and got shot by the driver. pic.twitter.com/aNPO5ltG88 — Sergio Quintana (@svqjournalist) December 1, 2014

Mottini, an exuberant resident of the bohemian district who was once described as a “harmless eccentric,” was the subject of a 2007 profile by The Chronicle.

“People understand he’s part of what makes North Beach North Beach,” Aaron Peskin, the former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said in 2007.

When Mottini, who has been diagnosed as a chronic paranoid schizophrenic, was evicted from his apartment in 2006 due to late-night outbursts, his friends at Cafe Trieste mobilized to help him get a new home.

On Sunday, several windows were shattered at Buster’s Cheese Steak as police searched the scene for evidence. Authorities have not identified a suspect and are reviewing security video from the area.

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