Man arrested, accused of firing blanks in synagogue

San Francisco police on Friday night arrested a man accused of brandishing a handgun at a synagogue and at a theater in the Richmond District, officials said.

Around 8 p.m. Tuesday, a man showed a handgun inside the Balboa Theatre before fleeing on foot without injuring anyone or any property, police said.

Balboa representatives could not be reached for comment, but an employee of the theater told police that an unknown man spoke with employees while looking at merchandise, then pulled out a handgun and brandished it.

Then on Wednesday night, police said, the same man went into the Schneerson Center at 2655 Balboa St., where a rabbi was teaching a class to a group of elders, and shot a round of blanks into the air before fleeing. The synagogue serves mostly Russian-speaking Jews.

San Francisco police said they responded to the incident around 9:30 a.m. Thursday and seized the expended casings. Police started an investigation and began searching for the gunman with the help of the San Francisco FBI. They identified the man and located and detained him in the Richmond District around 5 p.m. Friday.

From there, officers were able to get a search warrant for his residence, where they found and seized evidence related to the incidents, officials said.

The investigators were then able to develop probable cause to arrest the man, who was booked at San Francisco County Jail on charges of brandishing a firearm, disturbing a religious assembly and causing another to refrain from engaging in a religious service. Officials have not released the man’s name.

Mattie Pil, the president of synagogue, said her husband — Rabbi Pil — was sitting at a table with group of about 25 seniors when a man they didn’t recognize came into the center. After the man was asked where he was from, he answered that he was “from the Mossad,” Israel’s intelligence agency, pulled a handgun out of his jacket pocket, and started shooting into the air.

Mattie Pil described the man as being in his late 50s, heavy set, and “very Russian-looking.” He reportedly also said, “Regards from Haifa,” which is a city in Israel.

“He just shot up in the air and walked out,” said Pil, whose husband did not call the police that evening because he feared retaliation. “They were all shocked.”

Surveillance footage captured the encounter, which occurred just after 7:20 p.m. The Pils shared the footage with The Chronicle. The man is seen walking into the center, waving his hands in the air and appearing to speak emphatically, after which he pulls out a handgun and struggles with it. Then, while still talking, he shoots a round of blanks into the air.

Rabbi Pil said the group of elders — none of whom even flinched — were just “stunned” by the situation, explaining why they did not move or react in the video. An older man is also seen walking up to the gunman in the middle of firing, though he ducks a little bit before following the man to the door and closing it behind him.

Though the man has been arrested, police said, the investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is urged to call the SFPD 24-hour Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411.