The gunman in a fatal shooting near North Beach Wednesday afternoon fired his weapon at the victim’s car as he tried to drive away, video footage obtained by The Standard shows.
The shooting occurred in the area of Columbus Avenue and North Point Street around 1:11 p.m., a few blocks away from Fisherman’s Wharf. The San Francisco Police Department said the suspect was inside his vehicle when he shot at another occupied vehicle and then fled the area. But, according to a witness and footage of the shooting, the suspect was on foot, chasing the vehicle as he shot his weapon.
Surveillance footage from Royal Thai Spa at the corner of Columbus and North Point shows the gunman running toward a Honda SUV waiting at the traffic light with what appears to be an assault rifle. Police would not confirm if the suspect’s gun was an assault rifle.
Officers located the victim’s vehicle nearby at Leavenworth and Beach streets and found an unresponsive man who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds sitting in the driver’s seat. Police began CPR before paramedics arrived and took over. The victim, who has not been identified, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers later learned that the suspect turned himself in and was placed under arrest at the SFPD Central station. The department did not provide the suspect’s name, saying that charges are pending.
Near the intersection of Leavenworth and Beach, a department canopy stood over a yellow sheet on the street next to a Honda SUV. The driver’s side door was open.
Lexi Tate, manager of the Orangetheory Fitness at 1255 Columbus Ave., told The Standard she saw a man fire a “large weapon” four to five times right outside the studio around 1:20 p.m.
“He had shot a couple of shots toward the intersection of North Point and Columbus, and then he got back in his car and took off,” Tate said.
She then saw employees at the UPS Store across the street outside calling 911. Police showed up shortly after and blocked off Columbus between North Point and Bay streets. Tate said the studio’s noon class had already cleared out, so the doors were locked and only she and two coaches were inside at the time.
“I would never expect to see something like that happen here,” she said.
The deadly shooting is the city’s ninth homicide this year, according to SFPD crime data.