The San Francisco District Attorney’s office has filed a murder charge against a man accused of fatally stabbing a social worker Dec. 4 at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.
Wilfredo Jose Tortolero Arriechi, 34, was originally charged with attempted murder, but the charge was upgraded after the victim, 51-year-old Alberto Rangel, died two days after the attack, according to a Dec. 8 news release from the district attorney’s office.
Mr. Tortolero Arriechi — who was a patient — is charged with one count of murder, with an allegation that he personally used a knife in the commission of the crime.
The district attorney’s office said Mr. Tortolero Arriechi allegedly went to Ward 86 to speak with a physician and brought a concealed knife. He was reportedly calm while speaking with a social worker and was advised to leave. As the two walked to the elevator, he allegedly grabbed the social worker from behind and stabbed him multiple times.
Mr. Rangel, a longtime UCSF social worker, sustained life-threatening injuries and died Dec. 6.
The district attorney’s office said the investigation remains ongoing.
In response to the incident, the San Francisco Department of Public Health said in a statement shared with Becker’s earlier this week that the hospital will implement new security measures. These include weapons-detection systems for campus buildings 80/90, restricting access to a single secure entrance and exit, increasing deputy presence, using security wanding while detectors are installed, and updating protocols for patients flagged as high-risk threats.
Hospital officials also plan to conduct a systemwide review and root-cause analysis to strengthen staff safety across all DPH clinical settings.
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