In Wake of Fatal SF Pier 14 Shooting, Bill O'Reilly Starts 'Kate's Law' Petition

By AUTUMN JOHNSON

The tragic shooting that killed 32-year-old Pleasanton native Kate Steinle at San Francisco’s popular Pier 14 last week has provoked heated national debate over San Francisco’s Sanctuary City Policy. Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, the man charged with murder in Steinle’s death, is on probation out of Texas and is an undocumented immigrant who has been deported five times.

Government officials, law enforcement representatives, the public and even Donald Trump have weighed in on the sanctuary policy. Now television host, author and political commentator Bill O’Reilly has started a petition calling for a law, named in Kate’s memory, that would incarcerate deported undocumented immigrants who come back to this country.

The petition reads:

Dear Senator Mitch McConnell and Representative John Boehner:

We, the undersigned, respectfully ask Congress to pass Kate’s Law whereby undocumented aliens who are deported and return to the United States would receive a mandatory five year sentence in a federal penitentiary upon conviction.

Lopez-Sanchez pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder with malice aforethought in a San Francisco courtroom on Tuesday.

Read more here:

• Senator Feinstein, SFPOA Argue SF Pier 14 Homicide was Avoidable
• Undocumented Immigrant Charged with Killing Woman at SF Pier Reignites National Debate on Sanctuary Cities

Steinle, a Pleasanton native and San Francisco resident, was with her family around 6:30 p.m. on July 1 at Pier 14, just off the Embarcadero in the city’s South Beach neighborhood, when she was struck by gunfire from a large caliber weapon, according to police.

Matt Gonzalez, the chief attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, said at Lopez-Sanchez’s arraignment Tuesday afternoon that the death of Steinle was tragic but that “very likely this was an accidental shooting.”

In a jailhouse interview with ABC7 KGO News on Sunday, Lopez-Sanchez admitted to shooting Steinle but says it was an accident. During the interview, Lopez-Sanchez says the gun accidentally fired three times after he found it wrapped in a t-shirt.

A funeral was held in Pleasanton today for Steinle. Locals who knew Steinle were stunned and saddened last week as news of her death quickly spread throughout the community. Steinle grew up in Pleasanton and graduated from Amador Valley High.

Previous:

• Family of Pleasanton Woman Fatally Shot in SF Pier Starts Fundraiser to Support Causes She Loved
• Sources: Gun That Killed Woman on SF Pier 14 Possibly Stolen From Federal Agent
• Kate Steinle’s Funeral is in Pleasanton Today
• Parolee Arrested in Murder of Woman Strolling With Family At Popular San Francisco Pier
• Woman Shot, Killed in Broad Daylight Near SF Ferry Building Identified
• Pleasanton Woman Fatally Shot at Pier 14 in San Francisco

Friends and family gathered along the waterfront on Thursday to remember and mourn the woman described as “amazing, compassionate and energetic.” A memorial made up of flowers in Steinle’s honor could be found at Pier 14 over the weekend.

Steinle’s family has been devastated since her death. Her brother, Brad Steinle, started a GoFundMe page in honor of his beloved sister earlier this week. Her family told reporters they are touched by the support from the community.

Photo screenshot of Kathryn Steinle’s Facebook page. Map courtesy Google Maps.