bart_generic.jpg11:58 AM:Police are searching for a man suspected of sexually assaulting a woman near the BART 16th Street Mission station in San Francisco this morning.

Officers responded to the 2000 block of Mission Street after police dispatch received a 911 report of a rape at about 9 a.m., police Officer Albie Esparza said.

Shortly afterward, an officer thought he saw the suspect head into the 16th Street Mission station. Officials closed the station at about 9:15 a.m., and trains were unable to stop there while the officer searched for the suspect, Esparza said.

The suspect wasn’t found and trains resumed service at the station at about 9:35 a.m.
The suspect is described as a bald man, 6 feet 1 inch tall and 275 pounds, wearing a black leather jacket, blue shirt, and white baseball hat.

No delays to BART service were reported.

SaulSugarman, Bay City News

10:10 AM: Service has resumed at the BART 16th Street Mission station in San Francisco following a brief police chase of a suspected rapist, police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said.

Trains weren’t stopping at the station between 9:15 a.m. and 9:35 a.m. while San Francisco police worked to apprehend a suspect, BART spokesman Linton Johnson said.

Officers had arrived in the area on reports of a suspect who had allegedly sexually assaulted a victim. The suspect ran down a BART tunnel and service was stopped so police could continue pursuing the suspect without getting hit by trains, Esparza said.

Police were unable to find the suspect, but officers were interviewing the victim at the 16th Street Mission BART station at about 9:45 a.m., according to Esparza.

No delays to BART service were reported.

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