SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco police shot a man in San Francisco's Bayview District early Saturday evening [7/16/2011]. The man died later that evening from his injuries.
The incident occurred around 4:45 p.m. on Third Street and Oakdale Avenue when a 19-year-old man, who was believed to have been carrying a gun, was shot and collapsed on the sidewalk, police said.
A police spokesman said the shooting began after two uniformed officers conducted a fare inspection on a Muni light rail vehicle. They detained the man on the platform, but he fled on foot. During the foot pursuit, police said the suspect fired at the officers, and the officers fired back.
Witnesses had a different story and said police overreacted.As the man was running he had his hands up in the air, and then hit the ground when he was shot, one witness said.
Police maintained that the man had a weapon and they searched the area for the firearm.
One bullet casing lay on the street, and police said it came from a gun that did not belong to the police officers. Police said witnesses could have taken the victim’s weapon when the man collapsed, or the suspect could have thrown the gun somewhere during the pursuit.
The suspect was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and he later died from those injuries at 7 p.m. The officers were not injured.
Within hours of the shooting, an anonymous video popped up on YouTube that showed not only the chaos of the shooting scene, but what the person who posted the video claimed was a silver handgun lying 20-feet from the mortally wounded teenager. In the video, a large crowd that gathered near the scene, along with several police officers who roped off the area. A close look at the lower right corner of the video revealed a shiny object. In the video, a person in a hooded sweatshirt picked it up. Later in the video a person wearing a gray hoodie picked up something that appeared to be a cell phone. Police still haven't found the gun the suspect was said to be firing.
The two police officers involved in the shooting were placed on paid administrative leave following the incident. The shooting is being investigated by the homicide detail, the internal affairs officer-involved shooting, the District Attorney's Office and the Office of Citizen Complaints.
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