The BMW with bullet holes was parked on the street for more than five hours on Tuesday night as police and FBI agents snapped pictures and collected evidence. The FBI confirms that they had been in contact with SFPD about a Southern California bank robber known as the "Gen-X Bandit." The BMW's on board GPS navigation system led officers to Buena Vista Avenue.
There was a burst of gunfire alongside Buena Vista Park. Officers from the San Francisco police robbery unit had been staking out the BMW for several hours after getting a call from the FBI about a Southern California robbery suspect.
"Our team had located the vehicle and has set up a surveillance on this vehicle today until later this afternoon," said Mike Biel, the San Francisco Police Commander of Investigations.
Police say when the suspect got into the car at 5:40 in the afternoon, about a half dozen plain clothes officers approached the BMW.
"A suspect got into the vehicle, attempted to move the vehicle, the officers moved in an attempt to make a traffic stop, when they exited their vehicle, the driver then positioned his vehicle and drove at the officers from what I understand, endangering their lives, putting them in danger. They felt that their lives were in danger so they discharged their weapons in an attempt to stop the suspect," said Biel.
Multiple shots hit the hood and driver's side window killing the suspect. Police say the BMW was stolen from Pasadena on May 16 after a maintenance man at a car dealership left the keys in the car.
The very next day, police believe the stolen car was used in a pair of bank robberies in Irvine that took place just 20 minutes apart.
The suspect was dubbed the Gen-X Bandit, a man in his late 20's who threatened the teller with a gun and sped away in a late-model silver BMW. It's unknown if the man in the Irvine bank surveillance video is the same man who was shot to death by San Francisco police on Buena Vista Way.
Police have not yet confirmed the identity of the suspect who was shot Tuesday, or if he was armed, or if there was any evidence of any previous bank jobs in the car. Officers have also been going door-to-door in a nearby apartment complex to see if residents saw anything or if they may have known the suspect.
