Russian Hill shooting leaves tourist wounded, 2 suspects in custody

San Francisco police officers from the tactical unit walk to their vehicles in front of the Downs Memorial United Methodist Church on 61st Street near Idaho Street in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015 following a pursuit by San Francisco police officers of a suspect in a shooting near Jones and Lombard streets which extended across the Bay Bridge and ended on the streets of Oakland. less San Francisco police officers from the tactical unit walk to their vehicles in front of the Downs Memorial United Methodist Church on 61st Street near Idaho Street in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015 ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Russian Hill shooting leaves tourist wounded, 2 suspects in custody 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

One of San Francisco’s most scenic neighborhoods, best known for its iconic winding stretch of Lombard Street and less for its crime, was the scene of gunfire Tuesday that left a tourist wounded and two robbers briefly on the run from police.

The victim, believed to be from Thailand, was sightseeing on the 800 block of Lombard on Russian Hill when two muggers stole his camera and one of them shot him in the shoulder when he started to chase them, police said.

The brazen midday shooting happened just a block east of the famous meandering section of Lombard and across the street from the Yick Wo Elementary School, where children were in classrooms.

“The person was here on vacation from overseas, and essentially was just out taking pictures on Lombard Street at the time,” said Officer Albie Esparza, a San Francisco police spokesman.

The robbers jumped into a red sedan and sped away, but an officer spotted the getaway vehicle driving onto the Bay Bridge and gave chase, Esparza said.

California Highway Patrol officers nabbed one of the suspects and recovered a gun after he and his accomplice stopped in a residential neighborhood on the 1000 block of 60th Street near the Emeryville-Oakland border. The other robber took off running, prompting dozens of officers to fan out in a large-scale manhunt.

Suspect cornered

The second suspect was arrested just after 3 p.m. when he was cornered by members of the San Francisco Police Department Tacitical Division and an Emeryville police canine unit, Esparza said.

The names of the victim and the two men under arrest were not immediately released.

The violent episode unfolded around 12:10 p.m. when the robbers approached the tourist along Jones Street, about a block east of the crooked section of Lombard and kitty-corner from the playground of Yick Wo Elementary, said Officer Carlos Manfredi, a police spokesman.

The assailants grabbed the camera from the man, who then chased after them, Manfredi said. That’s when one of the men shot the victim in the shoulder, police said.

Paramedics took the victim to San Francisco General Hospital. He was in stable condition and expected to be released Tuesday night, Manfredi said.

Shortly after the shooting, police learned the suspect vehicle in the attack was spotted heading east on the Bay Bridge. San Francisco police were joined by California Highway Patrol officers, Emeryville police and Oakland police in the high-speed pursuit, Manfredi said.

Intense search

Keith Nomura, 62, lives with his wife on the block where the first suspect was captured. He said dozens of officers moved through the area while two police helicopters circled overhead. Officers told the couple to stay inside while they went through the sedan that was abandoned in the middle of the street.

“It’s nerve-racking,” Nomura said. “You hope nothing happens in your house. We locked the doors, and turned on the security system.”

Jaina Moultrie, 44, said she watched two heavyset men run out of the vehicle before one of them hopped a fence and ran near the back of her fourplex. The man then apparently made a motion that made her believe he tried to grab her 6-year-old son, Quan, she said.

“He reaches over, almost knocks my son over, but I said, ‘Quan! Come this way!’ I threw him in the house,” she said. “I’m just glad my son’s all right.”

Asked to describe what happened, Quan, riding a scooter shortly after the incident, said, “I don’t remember.”

The shooting left residents stunned back in the Russian Hill neighborhood, where before Tuesday crime mostly consisted of the occasional car break-in.

Resident surprised

Doug Sim, a 68-year-old crane salesman who has lived in the neighborhood for 29 years, said that while car break-ins have become common, a midday shooting across from an elementary school and only a block from the famed section of Lombard was disconcerting.

“It’s surprising. Most of the crime around here is petty theft,” Sim said. “As far as accosting people in the street during the middle of the day, that’s pretty serious stuff.”

Around 1:30 p.m., police had taped off the block of Lombard between Jones and Taylor as crime scene investigators processed the scene and onlookers stopped to see what the commotion was about.

Just one block east of where crowds of tourists continued to flock to the “crookedest street in the world,” investigators placed evidence markers and used pliers to pry what appeared to be a bullet from the exterior of a home.

“I am deeply troubled and angry about the assault on a visitor to our city,” said Supervisor Julie Christensen, who represents District Three, which includes Russian Hill. “There are no apologies or wishes that can adequately offset the impacts of this vicious crime. I urge anyone with any information about this incident to contact the Police Department.”

Kale Williams, Evan Sernoffsky and Henry K. Lee are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com, esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com, hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale @EvanSernoffsky @henryklee