SAN FRANCISCO (NYTIMES) - From her flower stand on Market Street, Patricia Lee saw the glint of a large blade and then feathers from a winter jacket fly through the air. An older woman buckled to her knees.
In broad daylight, on one of the busiest streets in San Francisco, two unsuspecting Asian women, one of them 84, had just been attacked by a man with a large military-style knife, officials and witnesses said.
"He walked right next to me - I could have been the one who got stabbed," said Lee, who witnessed the attack Tuesday afternoon. Police arrested Patrick Thompson, 54, who they say carried out the attack, although the motive remained unknown.