Patient Charged with Fatally Stabbing Social Worker Inside Hospital By Charna Flam

A hospital patient allegedly stabbed and killed a social worker at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Thursday, Dec. 4, according to the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD).

Patient Wilfredo Tortolero Arriechi was in Ward 86, the HIV clinic, when he allegedly stabbed the hospital social worker, around 1:30 p.m., local time on Thursday, Dec. 4.

Tortolero Arriechi “is charged with one count of murder, with an allegation that he personally used a deadly weapon (knife) in the commission of the murder,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced on Monday, Dec. 8. The San Francisco Homicide Detail is investigating the incident. 

Tortolero Arriechi was at the hospital to talk to a doctor, and allegedly had a hidden knife on him, the D.A.’s office said, citing court documents. The suspect “appeared calm and engaged in a conversation with a social worker and was advised to leave.” He and the victim walked to an elevator together when he suddenly grabbed the victim from behind and stabbed him numerous times.” The victim later died of his injuries.

Before the tragic incident, security was alerted after a Ward 86 patient threatened a doctor, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office said in a separate press release.

A sheriff’s deputy was on-site to provide security for the doctor when they “heard a disturbance unfolding in the hallway,” as the patient attacked a social worker. The deputy intervened and the victim was rushed to an operating room in critical condition after suffering multiple stab wounds to the neck and shoulders.

Police later recovered a five-inch kitchen knife that they believe the suspect used in the attack.

The victim has been identified as 51-year-old Alberto Rangel, according to multiple reports.

A vigil was held for Rangel on Sunday, Dec. 7, outside the hospital. A GoFundMe page has been created to raise funds for an organization that is special to Rangel.

Jessica Hoopengardner, a nurse and friend of Rangel, said he was “the most open-hearted, loving, non-judgemental, kind” person, Mission Local reported.

Colleague and witness Maddy Auble called the incident a “betrayal,” according to ABC 7. “For him to lose his life at work, when he was there to provide services to patients. It’s just not right.”

“Alberto had so much more life to live. He was devoted to his patients. He loved his job. He was enthusiastic about what he did,” Auble said.

“He changed people’s lives. There are people alive today because of him,” Auble said, KTVU reports. “He was just such a unique character.”

Two days after the attack, the San Francisco Deputy Sheriff’s Association (SFDSA) condemned the sheriff’s office for its “‘response-only’ security model” and reduction in on-site security. 

“This was not a random, unforeseeable incident,” SFDSA President Ken Lomba said. “ZSFGH’s own data show years of serious assaults and weapons on campus. Deputies, nurses, and social workers told DPH that pulling deputies off high-risk units/posts and replacing them with unarmed cadets and distant response teams would get someone seriously hurt or killed. On December 4, that prediction came true.” 

The union for Rangel and his colleagues, University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), demanded a “thorough investigation” in a statement.

“We owe our colleague and friend more than grief. We owe them change, and will fight for it with everything we have,” UPTE President Dan Russell said.

PEOPLE reached out to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office for comment.

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The San Francisco Department of Public Health said on Saturday, Dec. 6, that the DPH and the hospital are working to add “more security, limiting access points, and speeding up the installation of weapons detection systems.”

“This tragic event underscores the urgency of our ongoing efforts to strengthen protections for every member of our workforce,” the statement continued. “We are committed to doing everything necessary to ensure that no one fears for their safety while providing care to the people of San Francisco.”