San Francisco police fatally shoot Market Street stabbing suspect
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) -- A San Francisco police officer on Wednesday fatally shot a suspect who was allegedly stabbing a man inside a Market Street fast food restaurant, prompting a huge police response that resulted in the closure of several blocks of Market for several hours.
Market Street between Fifth and Sixth streets reopened around 4:30 p.m., nearly five hours after the incident was reported around 11:30 a.m. at a Subway restaurant on Market. Police Chief William Scott said during an afternoon press conference that his officers intervened when they saw a white male stabbing a Filipino or Asian male while walking their regular beat in the neighborhood.
A photo taken by a passerby showed a man with a bloody face sitting on a curb. Police said Wednesday evening that the victim, whose identity was pending, was expected to survive the stabbing attack.
The dispute apparently stemmed from an argument over a sandwich at the Subway shop. The man began attacking the Subway worker, a fight that was interrupted by two San Francisco officers while on their beat patrol.
Scott said an officer fired at the knife-wielding suspect to stop the attack. The man, whose identity was not immediately available, died after being shot by police.
"The loss of life is always tragic," Chief Scott said. "It doesn't matter how hit happened, it's tragic. We try to avoid them as much as we can (but) we do have an obligation to protect the public."
Several officers swarmed the area after the incident. Visitors were urged to avoid the area while police conducted their investigation and street closures and traffic delays were likely.
During the investigation, all San Francisco Municipal Railway buses were re-routed to other streets. Muni officials advised riders to use subway service while downtown as an alternative.
Police said the fatal officer-involved shooting is under investigation by the San Francisco Police Department's Homicide and Internal Affairs divisions; the San Francisco District Attorney's Independent Investigations Bureau and the Department of Police Accountability.
The last time that a San Francisco police officer was involved in a fatal shooting was on May 19, 2016. That's when police Sgt. Justin Erb fired a fatal shot that killed Jessica Williams.
The 29-year-old black woman was approached by officers who were investigating a report of stolen cars in the Bayview District.
That shooting and the public outcry over the incident led to the resignation of former police Chief Greg Suhr.
Mayor Ed Lee eventually appointed Chief William Scott to run the department in December 2016.
Social media users captured images from the scene of Wednesday's shooting.
This is a breaking news story. Refresh this page for updates.