Man jailed in knifing of 2 elderly women

SAN FRANCISCO — A man accused of stabbing two elderly women at a San Francisco bus stop was charged with attempted murder in an attack that follows a number of others against Asian Americans nationwide, authorities said.

Patrick Thompson, 54, of San Francisco also was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse for Tuesday’s attack, with sentencing enhancements for great bodily injury, great bodily injury on elders and personal use of a deadly weapon, the district attorney’s office said late Thursday in a statement.

Thompson, who has a history of mental illness, could face a potential life sentence if convicted.

A witness told KGO-TV that the man was carrying a large knife with knuckles on the handle and without warning attacked the women as they waited for a bus on Market Street.

“The knife punctured one victim’s lungs, requiring extensive surgery,” the district attorney’s office said. “A knife had to be removed from another victim at the hospital.”

Authorities initially said the women were 65 and 84 years old, and didn’t immediately identify them. Both women were expected to survive, authorities said.

The district attorney’s office said prosecutors were trying to determine whether there was evidence to support hate crime allegations.