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Police fatally shoot man armed with ‘two guns’ at SFO’s international terminal, homeless person injured

San Francisco police shot and killed a man who was allegedly armed with two guns and advanced on officers at the international terminal of the city’s airport Thursday morning. 

The police shooting happened at around 7:30 a.m. near the International Terminal of SFO after 911 callers reported a suspicious man inside the terminal, according to police and airport officials.

Doug Yakel, SFO’s spokesperson, said in a statement that police “attempted to de-escalate the situation, but the suspect continued to demonstrate threatening behavior.” Officers fired less-lethal munitions “to neutralize the threat, but the individual continued to advance, at which time SFPD officers fired shots to neutralize the threat.”

The suspect—who has not been identified—was injured and died as a result of his injuries.

A homeless person at the scene also suffered an injury and was taken to a hospital for treatment, officials said. The person is expected to survive. It’s unclear whether the injured person was struck by gunfire.

BART service to the airport was briefly halted Thursday morning but has since resumed.

Thursday's incident is the first San Francisco police shooting of 2022 and the first since an officer fatally shot a man at a residential hotel in the South of Market neighborhood last November. Video of that incident showed Ajmal Amani, a former Afghan interpreter who worked with the U.S. military and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, advancing on police with a knife before he was shot to death.

The shooting is being investigated by multiple agencies, including authorities in San Mateo County because the airport is located outside of San Francisco. Those agencies include the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office and Coroner’s Office.

The San Francisco Police Department has also launched an internal investigation into the shooting, and the city's District Attorney's Office and Department of Police Accountability also have probes ongoing.

San Francisco police are required to hold a public meeting within 10 days of a police shooting to disclose additional details. A date and location for that hearing has not yet been announced.

Michael Barba can be reached at mbarba@sfstandard.com

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