Incident Summary:

12/11/1973: Assailants shot and killed Paul Dancik, an artist, with a .32 caliber gun while he was standing at a phone booth on Haight Street in the Fillmore neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States. The assailants, identified as J.C. Simon, Manuel Moore, and Anthony C. Harris, were black Muslims who followed the Nation of Islam and believed that they had to "destroy the enemy" and "kill devils," which they interpreted as white people. This was the fourth in a series of 20 racially motivated attacks (with 23 victims) targeting white people by black Muslims who came to be known as the Zebra Killers.

GTD ID:
197312110002

When:
1973-12-11

Country:
United States

Region:
North America

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

California

City:
San Francisco

Location Details:
On Haight and Buchanan Streets in Fillmore

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Armed Assault
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property
Name of Entity Not applicable
Specific Description white man, Paul Dancik
Nationality of Target United States
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage No
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Firearms Handgun
Weapon Details
.32 caliber gun
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?Yes
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Additional Information The eight Zebra killers were black Muslims, who belonged to the San Francisco chapter of the independent socio-religious sect, the Nation of Islam. The perpetrators followed the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, and believed that their deity motivated them to kill the "devil," which the men interpreted to mean white people. The Nation of Islam paid for the legal representation of most members during their trials for these attacks. This was the fifth incident in a series of 20 racially motivated attacks (with 23 victims) by the perpetrators who came to be known as the Zebra killers. See also events 197310200002, 197310220003, 197310290003, 197311250004, 197312110002, 197312130002, 197312200003, 197312200004, 197312220002, 197312220003, 197312230001, 197401280001, 197401280002, 197401280003, 197401280004, 197404010003, 197401280005, 197402030002, 197402240005, 197403070002, 197403090001, 197403070004, 197403000001, 197403000002, 197403210002, 197404140003, and 197404160003.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Zebra killers No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 3
Number of Captured Perpetrators 3
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 1 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 1
Number of U.S. Fatalities 1
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 0
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
Prentice Earl Sanders and Bennett Cohen, "The Zebra Murders: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights," Arcade Publishing, Inc., 2006.
Clark Howard, "Zebra: The true account of the 179 days of terror in San Francisco," Richard Marek Publishers, 1979.