SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco police were searching Monday for a man who wore a red “Make America Great Again” hat and used a sword to slash another man’s hand after an argument outside a roller-skating rink.
The attacker fled the scene Friday night outside the Church of 8 Wheels, leaving his victim bleeding profusely on the sidewalk, the San Francisco Chronicle reported .
The man wearing the MAGA hat approached the victim and the two started arguing. When the victim tried to grab the hat, the attacker pulled out a sword and cut him, Officer Robert Rueca told the newspaper.
Sgt. Michael Andraychak on Monday confirmed the sword attack but declined to offer any details.
The victim, whose name was not released, was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Scott Sweeney, who was in the area the night of the attack, said he saw a man with a MAGA hat and a sword tucked into the back of his jacket about 30 minutes before the incident. The man, Sweeney said, was shouting homophobic slurs at him.
“In my mind I didn’t think it was a real sword until we came out later and police were on the scene and there was blood and the hat on ground,” he said.
David Miles, who runs the roller rink at the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church, said he didn’t see the attack but ran out to help the victim.
Miles said officers asked him if a man dressed as a pirate had come into the roller rink, but he hadn’t seen anyone like that.
