(Update, 12:22 p.m.): Officer Albie Esparza said the victim was neither shot nor stabbed. Medical authorities are conducting an autopsy to determine exactly how Sprague was killed, Esparza said.
(Original story, 8:15 a.m.) Medical authorities this morning identified the man who was stabbed to death Sunday as 47-year-old Richard Sprague.
Mission Local reports that Sprague, a San Francisco resident, was robbed stabbed on Julian Avenue between 15th and 16th streets sometime after 2 a.m. Sunday. Neighbors said they heard Sprague call out for help, but nobody -- not even police -- came to his assistance.
"He was yelling, 'Help, help, I can't breathe.' ... He ran out of air. He also said, 'Please call the police'" a neighbor told Mission Local.
Five hours after the screams were heard, police arrived. Sprague was seen lying on the sidewalk, belly up, with his pants unbuttoned, residents said.
"We ask anyone in the area of this street and the blocks surrounding it who saw or heard anything to contact SFPD," the signs read. "You can remain anonymous: tip line 575-4444."
The stabbing was San Francisco's eighth homicide this year. The last homicide was on Feb. 15, when police found Luther Robinson, 55, stabbed to death in the city's Bayview District.
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