A good Samaritan is being called a "hero" after he held a suspect until police arrived in an attack against an elderly man in San Francisco's Chinatown Wednesday.
Due to other recent attacks, San Francisco police have made it a point to have a presence in Chinatown. But officers can’t be everywhere all the time.
Fortunately for the victim, there was a good Samaritan, who was ready to respond.
24-year-old Darren Mark Stallcup, who calls himself a “cowboy living in Chinatown," told NBC Bay Area Thursday that he rushed out of his apartment after he heard some people screaming in fear.
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“I see a very young guy beating up a very old man in the middle of the street and a bunch of people watching,” he said.
At first, Stallcup said the attacker fled as people tried to help the bloodied victim. But then, the man came back.
“Before I could even pull out my phone, the guy came back around a second time. This time in a full sprint with the craziest look in his eye,” he said. “I remember screaming at him during the fight. While I was bear-hugging him, I was yelling at him. I was telling him that the old man he was attacking was actually his brother and that ‘love was the answer.'"
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Stallcup said the man did not answer. He struggled with the attacker until police arrived to the scene.
The San Francisco Police Department told NBC Bay Area that the suspect was later taken into custody and will face assault charges.
He told NBC Bay Area that he talked briefly with the victim, who thanked him.
Stallcup also said that he was humbled by all the social media messages that called him a "hero."
“I was just doing what any good man would do. And hopefully, if any of you saw somebody attacking an elderly person, you might try to do something to stop them,” he added.
Stallcup was careful to emphasize that onlookers needed to be cautious before jumping into a physical altercation. He recommends anyone to call police first if they can.
But Stallcup point it out that anyone can get involved by shouting to make their presence known or recording the incident on a cellphone camera.
