Outside a T-Mobile store on 17th and Valencia Street is where a San Francisco police officer fired on a suspect who was pointing a gun into a crowd of people. Chief Greg Suhr says it happened at 2 a.m. after a fight broke out among two groups of people, some of whom had left the Elbo Room earlier.
"One of the men pulled a gun on the group. Citizens ran into the parking lot at Mission Station, calling the attention of the officers that somebody had pulled a gun on the group," said Suhr.
Two officers responded from the Mission Police station, which is just across the street.
"In fearing that the folks were going to be either shot or killed, they fired upon the suspect, striking the suspect. We don't know the circumstances, but another person was also hit by the gunfire," said Suhr.
Both men were taken to San Francisco General Hospital in critical condition. During the investigation, there were 15 orange circles with numbers drawn on the ground indicating where the shells fell from the shots one of the officers fired. When officers recovered the suspect's gun, they discovered it was not a gun, but an air-powered weapon.
Elbo Room co-owner Matt Shapiro said there was no indication that any of his customers were having any issues.
"We actually had no incidents last night as far as any type of altercations between customers. It was actually a pretty mellow night," said Shapiro.
Police investigators are canvassing the area attempting to find and interview witnesses. Supervisor David Campos who represents the area said the incident is being taken very seriously.
"I think it's important not to jump to conclusions. Since this is an officer involved shooting, there are automatic investigations that take place," said Campos.
Police are testing to see if in fact the air powered weapon the suspect had was lethal. They're also investigating why the other man who was not holding a weapon was shot. Both unidentified males are in critical condition at SF General.
