Abel Medina was in San Francisco for a business trip when he, like many other Bay Area tourists, headed to the Golden Gate Bridge, hoping for a brisk walk with spectacular views.
Instead, the 40-year-old marketing director for the University of Guadalajara in Mexico was struck by a blow dart gun on Friday afternoon, the needle sticking long and deep into his thigh.
A woman walking on the east side of the bridge, whom Medina believes might have been Canadian, was also hit in the kneecap with what appears to be the same kind of dart. The bizarre event is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol and has been picked up by news outlets across the country. No suspects have been arrested.
Medina believes the 5-inch darts were shot from someone whizzing by in a car along the iconic bridge. While tests are set to be run on the dart, CHP Officer Andrew Barclay said officers are still trying to review surveillance video from the bridge to see if they can pinpoint the shooter.
"Just before we got to the north side of the bridge, I felt a pinch on my left leg above my knee," Medina told NBC Bay Area and Telemundo in Spanish on Tuesday.
Medina acknowledged the dart really didn't cause him much pain.
Warning: Yesterday two people and I were shot with darts while walked over the #GoldenGate bridge @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/OJMW88Xu6i
— Abel (@Fonabel) February 13, 2016
But he's been nervous ever since because he has no idea if the dart's tip was contaminated with anything.
While Medina was being checked out at the scene and cleared by paramedics, an officer took the dart and sent it off to the Department of Justice for testing. Those results could take up to two weeks to come back.
"I am worried," Medina said, while speaking on Skype from his home in Mexico. "It's unfortunate that things like this happen because I was just trying to have a good time."
Local
Anyone with information should call the California Highway Patrol's Marin Area Office by calling 415-924-1100. The blow darts were likely fired on Feb. 12 from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
NBC Bay Area's Kristofer Noceda contributed to this report.
