A man was arrested on Tuesday as the suspected gunman in the shooting that occurred last Friday in front of a movie theater in Daly City.
San Francisco native Andrew Covarrubias, 18, is the believed culprit in Friday night’s shooting. At around 10:40 p.m., Covarrubias was allegedly bumped into by one of the victims in front of the Century 20 theater at the Pacific Plaza, and because of it, opened fire on those in the area.
Three people were wounded in the attack, police say, including one pregnant woman who was forced into a premature labor because of the incident. According to Sgt. David Mackriss, however, their conditions remain stable, and the victims, including the premature baby, are expected to survive the attack.
Immediately after the shooting Covarrubias is said to have fled from the scene using the pedestrian’s tunnel for Daly City BART.
Pedro Cuevas, a Skyline student who works for Century 20 in Daly City, was working the night of the shooting.
“I [was taking tickets] at the door, and all I heard were popping sounds,” he said. “I saw the people in line to get tickets rush inside the theater. One guy came up to me and said, ‘Somebody’s shooting!’ and I thought he was lying.”
He went on to say that a police officer who had heard the commotion came over to ask them what had happened.
Investigators later found out that a man matching the description of the shooter (footage had been taken from security cameras) had taken a cab into San Francisco from Daly City BART. He was allegedly dropped off at the 4400 block of Mission Street in the city.
According to Lt. Jay Morena of the Daly City police department, Covarrubias was seen by undercover Daly City police officers and, after giving chase, was apprehended on Tuesday.
Covarrubias is currently being held in the San Mateo County Jail on three counts of attempted murder and on a weapons violation.
One Skyline student, Shelley Michaels, said that she couldn’t believe that this had happened so close to home.
“I have been taking my kids to that theater for over 3 years now,” said Michaels. “I never thought that something like this would happen in a place that always seemed so safe.”
“At least the police found him,” said Joshua Michaels, Shelley’s husband. “I’m glad that it didn’t take long for the feeling of safety to come back.”
