Witness: Deputy was petting dog, not watching attacker, during S.F. hospital stabbing

""This could have been avoided on so many fucking levels,""

""We knew three weeks ago about this patient.""

""intervened immediately""

A social worker was stabbed repeatedly by a patient Thursday afternoon at San Francisco General Hospital's Ward 86, the HIV clinic. A sheriff's deputy assigned to provide additional security for hospital staff was petting a dog and not within eyesight of the attacker during the stabbing. A hospital employee intervened and pulled the attacker off the colleague. The alleged attacker was a regular patient at the ward who had threatened medical staff and had made threats at other clinics in recent weeks. The attacker was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and mayhem. The social worker is on life support and remains in critical condition.

Read at Mission Local