A man was shot and killed after San Francisco police opened fire Wednesday evening on a residential street in Bayview-Hunters Point.
In a press conference a couple of hours after the incident, SFPD said the man was fatally shot after he approached officers who were trying to arrest someone else at about 3 p.m. near Fairfax Avenue and Catalina Street.
Police said the man who was shot was carrying a firearm, but at the press conference didn't describe the gun or how it was displayed.
SFPD spokesperson Officer Robert Rueca said the man was taken to a hospital with injuries considered life-threatening and later died.
Police didn't clarify whether the man who was killed had any connection to the person being arrested.
⚠️ MEDIA STAGING ⚠️
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) July 26, 2023
Public Information Officers are on the scene and will address our media partners soon. All media present please stage on the corner of Catalina St and Ironwood Way. pic.twitter.com/I24GMVEimz
In a bystander video of the shooting posted to Instagram, a man can be seen yelling and gesturing at officers in two police cruisers prior to the shooting. It is unclear what was said or what caused the confrontation.
The shooting, according to police information, involved an SFPD unit that emerged in 2021 from the Gang Task Force when the department expanded it by 10 officers and renamed it the Community Violence Reduction Team.
As police left the scene of the incident late Wednesday, Geoffrea Morris and Tinisch Hollins, advocates and co-founders of a community group called SF Black Wall Street, said the shooting traumatized the neighborhood. SFPD left crime scene tape and blood residue after disbanding for the night.
“What hurts me—I mean, the whole scene hurts me—but the blatant disregard of the community by law enforcement not properly cleaning the site. [...] In no other neighborhood would you just leave this unkempt,” Morris said.
Meanwhile, she added, children were playing when shots rang out and at least one home was struck by gunfire while the residents were outside.
SFPD released no additional details about the encounter by the time they left the scene. But Rueca said SFPD will hold a town hall with more information about what happened.
On Thursday morning, the city Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified the man as Ryant Bluford, 41, of San Francisco.
Bay City News contributed to this report.