Man detained over suitcase found stuffed with human remains

SAN FRANCISCO — A man was detained Friday night in connection with a suitcase that had been found on a downtown San Francisco street stuffed with human remains, authorities said.

Police Chief Greg Suhr confirmed the "person of interest" was detained for questioning in the Tenderloin district, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The move came only hours after police released grainy surveillance photos of a man wearing a striped baseball cap, light blue jeans and a blue and orange jacket.

The suitcase was found Wednesday afternoon on a street in the city's South of Market neighborhood. More body parts were found in a trash can nearby.

Police said that in addition to the man pictured in the photo, a second person was detained. His connection to the case was not revealed.

The newspaper reported that police did not know if the "person of interest" had committed a crime, only that video footage showed him in the area where the suitcase was discovered.

The man, whose identity was not released, was cooperating with detectives, police spokeswoman officer Grace Gatpandan said.

"Homicide has to figure out whether this person is involved with the crime," Gatpandan said.

The San Francisco medical examiner determined that the remains belong to an unidentified light-skinned man. Authorities will now turn to a DNA laboratory to identify him.

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