San Francisco restaurant owner stabbed multiple times in vicious attack

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A San Francisco restaurant owner, Azim Murait, was stabbed multiple times inside his restaurant, Shawarma Azmi, on Saturday night.

The attacker, a 39-year-old woman, was arrested on felony charges.

Murait recognized the woman who attacked him, stating she was not a customer but often brought her own food to eat at his restaurant. Security footage from the incident shows Murait defending himself with a metal bowl as he was stabbed.

Murait suffered injuries to his eyebrow, neck, and hands during the attack.

“This is end of my life so I have to do whatever I can,” Murait said, reflecting on the attack.

Murait attempted to calm the attacker, saying, “Look you already injured, you see my blood on my hand, calm down, you make it worst, you almost kill me, you almost finished my life.”

Murait explained that the woman regularly visited his restaurant with her own food, which he never minded, but this time she showed up with a friend and exhibited suspicious behavior.

During the attack, Murait said the woman’s two friends vandalized the area behind the front counter.

Murait locked the door on the attackers, noting, “I cannot fight….two people, three people…. No matter how strong you are.”

San Francisco police arrived after the store’s alarm went off, and Murait expressed gratitude for the support he received from Mayor Daniel Lurie and the community.

“I want to thank the mayor yesterday and the news everyone who support me with words, a lot of good people around me,” Murait said.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.