A man was fatally shot by San Francisco police after he rammed a car into the Chinese consulate near Japantown on Monday. The scene around Laguna Street and Geary Boulevard was quickly flooded with police and emergency vehicles. The individual, initially reported with severe injuries, was later confirmed dead by the San Francisco Police Department’s Kathryn Winters.
This incident sparked a vehement response from the Chinese government, highlighting the severity of the damage to the consulate building and potential risks to its staff. They demanded a swift and transparent inquiry from the U.S., insisting on legal consequences for those involved.
Local authorities are collaborating with the U.S. State Department for the ongoing investigation. They haven’t yet revealed the driver’s identity or possible reasons behind his act.
Footage from ABC7 showcased a Honda sedan embedded into the consulate’s Geary Street entrance. Sergii Molchanov, a Stanford student present at the consulate during the incident, recounted witnessing the driver with a bleeding head, shouting, “Where’s the CCP?” post-crash. While he didn’t observe the driver with any weapons, security guards seemed to be in possession of a knife.
The immediate fear after the crash was the potential of an explosive device inside the car, prompting the summoning of a bomb squad and a specialized dog unit.
Neighborhood witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots, with people evacuating the consulate premises swiftly. Although some businesses were closed for Indigenous People’s Day and Columbus Day, the consulate operated normally. The staff was evacuated after the incident.