The shocking moment a woman leans out of a Cadillac's passenger window and brandishes an AK-47 while speeding through the streets of S...
The shocking moment a woman leans out of a Cadillac's passenger window and brandishes an AK-47 while speeding through the streets of San Francisco has been caught in an image released by city cops.
The woman - who has not been identified - made the shocking move during an illegal stunt driving event in the area of Barneveld and McKinnon Avenues on July 11, and pictures were posted online by the San Francisco Traffic Safety on Wednesday.
Police announced that they have since impounded the Cadillac involved, but would not say if the woman has been arrested or faces charges.
Officers also released an image of the car being towed away.
It comes as gun crime in the city has surged in the last year - with shooting incidents in the year to July double what they were in the first six months of last year.
The woman - who has not been identified - leans out of a Cadillac's passenger window and brandishes an AK-47 while speeding through the streets of San Francisco
Police announced that they have since impounded the Cadillac involved, and released an image of the car being towed away
The image came from Twitter post by the San Francisco Traffic Safety account. The woman was seen leaning out of the window of a Cadillac with the weapon, they said, in the area of Barneveld and McKinnon Avenues on July 11.
'The incident is being investigated by the SFPD Stunt Driving Response Unit and the SFPD Traffic Company,' San Francisco Public Information Office Adam Lobsinger told MailOnline. 'Due to the fact that this is an open an active investigation we cannot comment further.'
California law defines 'illegal exhibition of speed' as instances where driver speeds 'in order to show off or make an impression on someone else.' It carries a misdemeanor charge, and violators can be jailed for 90 days and have their cars impounded.
'It is an illegal stunt driving event commonly referred to as a "sideshow,"' Lobsinger told MailOnline.
In court, a prosecutor must prove that you accelerated on purpose to catch the attention of another person. This charge is often coupled with misdemeanor reckless driving charges.
The weapon she is also carrying - an AK-47 - would be illegal if it is a real assault weapon.
It is a crime to own an assault weapon in California, per penal code 30605 - violators can spend up to 3 years in county jail.
The outrageous stunt came amid a huge surge in gun violence in San Francisco.
At least 119 shootings took place in the first six months of the year, more than twice the 58 that had taken place by June of last year, according to Chief Bill Scott.
The data includes both fatal and nonfatal shootings.
Speaking at a press conference last month, the chief said the numbers were 'a huge concern.'
He said to help address the rise in gun violence, the police department is building relationships with community members and partnering with the California Partnerships for Safe Communities, a coalition of organizations that identify people who are at risk of becoming a crime victim or a perpetrator and who work with families to prevent crime.
The increase in shootings in San Francisco follows a trend in many major cities throughout the country. Shootings are up from the same period last year in Chicago; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Portland, Oregon; Baltimore; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Houston.
The chief also called for more officers to be recruited, amid a national movement to cut police funding in the wake of the George Floyd killing.
He said the San Francisco Police Department has a shortage of 400 officers.
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