Tai Lam: 67-Year-Old Homeless Man Beaten To Death, San Francisco Police Searching ForSuspects

Tai Lam was laying in a sleeping bag in San Francisco’s financial district in late November when three suspects attacked him, brutally beating the 67-year-old homeless man and leaving him to die alone in a cold alley.

Now, the San Francisco Police Department has released video of the beating, and they urged with anyone who witnessed the killing to come forward.

The murder of Tai Lam has sent shockwaves through San Francisco. San Francisco Police Lt. Toney Chaplin said he had never seen a killing as brutal as Lam’s beating. Lam was 5-foot-5 and weighed less than 100 pounds and needed crutches to walk.

Police said the attack on Lam lasted more than an hour. The suspects first encountered Lam at 11 p.m. on November 23, attacking him in what police described as a “flash mob.” The suspects then smoked cigarettes near Crocker Galleria while Lam slept, then attacked the homeless man again.

The suspects kicked the defenseless Lam as he cowered on the ground, then walked away again but returned quickly to attack again. They finally left the scene at around midnight, leaving Lam alone through the night. Authorities said he did not die immediately, but likely suffered in an alcove and was found dead in the morning.

“It’s a vicious crime and people should be outraged that this homeless person was attacked unprovoked and essentially beaten to death,” San Francisco police Officer Albie Esparza said after the killing.

Police have released video of the brutal attack in the hopes that someone will come forward and identify the suspects. They also released video of the suspects stopping to sit on a stoop and smoke cigarettes.

“Somebody saw them,” Chaplin said. “This is brutal in nature and all three had some involvement.”

The attack also has homeless advocates up in arms.

“It is incredibly vulnerable to sleep outside,” Jennifer Friedenbach, director of the Coalition on Homelessness, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Homeless people say they have to sleep with one eye open. It’s really common for people to come into our office who have been severely beaten when they were sleeping.”

But after releasing video of the Tai Lam beating death in early December, San Francisco police are still searching for the suspects responsible for his death. They are asking anyone with information to contact the police department by email at John.Cagney@SFGov.org.