Suspects Arrested for Vandalizing SF Restaurant at Santa Con

Two 21-year-old women were arrested by San Francisco Police yesterday after widely circulated video showed a shocking incident of vandalism at Polk Street restaurant Shalimar this weekend. The suspects, one a resident of San Francisco and the other of Pacifica, were booked into County Jail on felony vandalism and battery charges. According to SFPD, the women had seen the viral vandalism footage on local news, and chose to surrender themselves.

The incident at Shalimar, a popular Indian and Pakistani restaurant, took place on Saturday, December 8 just before 7 p.m. during the annual drinking event Santa Con. An unofficially organized pub crawl, Santa Con typically attracts young revelers dressed in holiday garb by the thousands.

At Shalimar, an employee told SFPD officers that the two suspects entered the restaurant highly intoxicated. One woman told the employee she had paid for food, but hadn’t gotten it, which the employee denied. He refused her service due to intoxication.

At that point, the woman began knocking over items at the counter, including the cash register, according to the employee. When he confronted her, she allegedly punched him, and he fled. Then, as the employee says and video footage shows, another woman grabbed a chair and smashed the restaurant’s glass door.

Video of the incident was captured by Shalimar restaurant staff.

The two suspects at Shalimar weren’t the only Santa Con revelers displaying poor behavior this year. Seven others were arrested for public intoxication, while fifteen were treated by medics.

• Santa Con Partiers Trash SF Pakistani Restaurant [ESF]
• Vandalism Suspects Surrender After Release of Video Footage 18-162 [SFPD]
• Suspects Arrested in Santa Con Vandalism at SF Restaurant [NBC Bay Area]