Man beaten, robbed in restroom at SF’s Westfield mall

A 20-year-old man was beaten and robbed of school supplies at Westfield San Francisco Centre on Friday, August 12, 2016. A 20-year-old man was beaten and robbed of school supplies at Westfield San Francisco Centre on Friday, August 12, 2016. Photo: Darryl Bush, SFC Photo: Darryl Bush, SFC Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Man beaten, robbed in restroom at SF’s Westfield mall 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

A 20-year-old man was beaten and robbed of school supplies by a group of muggers inside a restroom at Westfield San Francisco Centre, just two days after the body of a restaurant worker was found slain in a stairwell at the mall.

The alleged attack occurred around 5:15 p.m. Friday. Three men entered one of the Market Street shopping mall’s restrooms and jumped the victim, repeatedly punching him in the face and his body, police said.

The thieves began going through the victim’s backpack and took school supplies before running away. The young man suffered minor injuries, and declined to be taken to a hospital, authorities said.

The incident occurred two days after a body was found in an emergency exit stairwell at the mall, and the city medical examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide. The body was later identified as 28-year-old Frank Galicia, a line cook at the Michelin-starred restaurant Sons & Daughters in Union Square.

Galicia’s body was discovered at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday. Police have declined to elaborate on the circumstances of the death or comment on a possible motive.

An investigation by The Chronicle in January showed that the 800 block of Market Street, which includes the Westfield mall, generates more crime reports than any other single block in the city.

Excluding noncriminal and traffic-related incidents, nearly 1,400 police reports were filed from the 800 block of Market Street and its bordering intersections last year, according to police records, or an average of nearly four per day. More than half of the reports were for theft or larceny, although there were also 100 reported assaults, 80 robberies and nine reports of sexual assault.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno