San Francisco police officers shot a man armed with a knife in the early hours of Thursday morning before discovering a woman’s body and dead dog inside a home. The suspect was later pronounced dead in hospital, police said.
Officers responded to a house on 31st Avenue near Balboa Street in San Francisco’s Richmond District, where they found an 84-year-old man in the doorway. A 37-year-old man armed with a knife then moved toward police officers, who opened fire, police said in a press release Thursday morning.
When officers entered the home, they found the body of a 76-year-old woman as well as a dead dog. Medics took the 84-year-old man, who had unspecified non-life-threatening injuries, to a hospital, police said.
The suspect is said to be the victim’s son, who was suffering from mental illness and lived at home with his mother, father and family dog, according to police.
The shooting location is close to the merchant corridor of Balboa Street, a few blocks north of Golden Gate Park and close to George Washington High School.
Supervisor Connie Chan, who represents the area on the Board of Supervisors, issued a statement saying she was in close contact with police about the shooting and said the incident was tragic.
“When one household is hurt, our entire community is impacted,” Chan said. “My heart and thoughts are with the family.”
Thursday’s shooting marks the second time police have shot someone in the city this year. On May 19, SFPD Officer Gregory Buhagiar shot and killed Sergio Barrios, 40, as Barrios reached for a pistol in Bernal Heights.