Man With a Knife at Market Street
On Tuesday, a man allegedly wielding a large knife at Market Street got shot by an SF police officer with attempts to getting him to surrender. According to police records, the shooting incident happened on Market Street’s sidewalk in front of the Westfield Mall at 5 p.m. on the same day.
San Francisco Police Department spokesman Officer Robert Rueca told news outlets about details regarding the incident. On Tuesday at 5 p.m., the San Francisco police officers got called to intervene in a fight between a group of men at Market Street. According to Rueca, the enforcers who arrived at the scene already saw the man-in-question brandishing a knife in public.
San Franciso Police Department’s Official Statement on the Case
Additionally, Rueca went on to say that the police officers present during that time used several different weapons to attempt apprehending the man. The San Francisco Police Department spokesman mentioned that some of them shot non-deadly weapons such as a beanbag gun, while sheriff assistants used tasers at the scene. There was also at least one law enforcer who fired his service revolver, a lethal firearm. According to Rueca, the number of officers that fired shots remains unknown, including the order of when they used the previously mentioned involved weapons.
Rueca also acknowledged the fact that one officer shot lethal rounds against the man with the knife during the time of the incident. However, authorities have yet to determine the time frame of when the on-scene police enforcers used their firearms, and those involved currently got detained for further interrogations.
The Shooting Incident’s Aftermath
Meanwhile, the alleged man with a knife got taken by paramedics to the nearest hospital to treat his gunshot wound immediately. As of late, the man’s health condition remains unknown. According to several reports, however, the man is currently recovering from the obtained injury.
On Tuesday at 5:20 p.m., the city announced an emergency notice to the public, reminding innocent passersby to avoid going near the areas of Fifth and Market streets. The municipality alerted its citizens that medical staff and police enforcers are present there to investigate the shooting incident that took place. In an area of the sidewalk near Westfield Sab Francisco Centre’s entrance, authorities are putting up crime-scene tapes to keep civilians out from the crime scene.
Moreover, BART also issued an alert to its passengers around 5:40 p.m. that police activity would cause temporary closedown of the area’s Powell Street Station. As of late, news outlets disclosed no confirmed reports of the station closing due to the shooting incident. However, BART officers posted on their official Twitter account that authorities are present nearby to investigate the case. Despite the station’s closure, trains still resumed its public transport operations, and the terminal reopened again by 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
Witnesses Expressed What They Remember from the Incident
Multiple witnesses were also present at the time the shooting incident occurred. According to witness Ezra Ortiz’s interview with KPIX5, the man refused to listen to the officers and put his knife down, moving erratically from his stance against him and the police. Ortiz recounted that the man’s weapon was large, walking around Market Street and brandishing it in front of the authorities and civilians nearby.
Additionally, Ortiz mentioned that the cops tried to lure the man away from the public and corner him somewhere with lesser people to avoid any possible casualties. He remembered that the man didn’t listen to the police’s request to surrender and let go of his knife, resulting in him getting shot by one of the officers that night.
Other witnesses also got interviewed by the police and the media to ask what happened during the event. According to some of them, they saw and heard multiple shots fired by cops at the time. One even told KPIX5 that after the incident, one of the police officers picked up the knife at the scene and raised it to show the object to onlookers present.
