Police shoot and kill armed man at San Francisco airport, state Dept. of Justice investigating
SAN FRANCISCO - A man who San Francisco police say was armed with two handguns at the airport on Thursday morning has died after officers shot him, according to an airport spokesman.
California's Attorney General Rob Bonta announced pursuant to AB 1506 - the law regarding police shootings and investigations - the California Department of Justice will independently review this shooting.
San Francisco police had fired shots "to neutralize" the man after they had tried to deescalate the situation to no avail, San Francisco International Airport spokesman Doug Yakel said.
In the first statement to the media, Yakel said that police had "fired shots" at the man, but he didn't say whether the bullets had struck him.
Later, Yakel said they were fortunate that these types of deadly events don't occur more often.
The drama began about 7:30 a.m., when police were called to the SFO International Terminal in front of the BART station entrance on a report of an armed person, Yakel said.
Even though police said they tried to deescalate the situation, the man "continued to demonstrate threatening behavior," Yakel said.
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Police then "engaged non-lethal measures to neutralize the threat, but the individual continued to advance, at which time SFPD officers fired shots to neutralize the threat," Yakel said.
It remains unclear how many officers were involved in the incident. Authorities have not identified the suspect who was killed.
The San Francisco Police Department said it will examine which type of deescalation tactics were used during the incident. That information will then be made public at a town hall meeting within 10 days.
Officer Grace Gatpandan, a spokesperson for the police department, said there is no indication that the incident is related to domestic terrorism. Authorities don't believe the suspect was trying to commit an act of terrorism, though it remains unclear why he was armed.
One airport employee told KTVU that it was chaotic inside the terminal with people screaming "shooter, shooter!"
Yakel said there was also one minor injury to a person experiencing homelessness in the area, who was treated and released on scene.
During this incident, BART service to SFO was temporarily suspended and passengers were routed around the affected area. BART service has since resumed.
This incident did not result in any other impact on airport operations.
The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, the San Francisco Police Department's Internal Affairs Division, the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability, and the San Mateo County Coroner's Office are also investigating this incident.
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