Criminal Justice
Police were called to the New Bosworth Market after employees there said a man entered the store armed with a gun.| Google Maps
San Francisco police said they shot and killed a man Friday in the Bernal Heights neighborhood after he entered a market armed with a gun and later reached for the firearm during an hourslong standoff with officers.
Police were called to the New Bosworth Market on the corner of Bosworth and Cuvier streets at around 2:20 p.m. after workers there said a man who lived upstairs entered the store with a bottle of alcohol and a loaded gun.
By the time officers arrived, the man had moved to the rear yard of the store and was snorting what appeared to be cocaine, according to police. Officers tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with the man for about three and a half hours before the man allegedly reached for his gun and was shot by police.
A reporter for ABC7 News, Ryan Curry, posted a video on social media showing officers in tactical gear aiming a rifle into the market's backyard from behind a fence. Curry said a news crew heard “several pops” that sounded like gunfire shortly after the video was taken.
One of our crews captures this. It shows SFPD with guns drawn focusing on this side yard. Shortly after this, our crews heard several pops - possible gunfire. We are waiting to speak with SFPD. @abc7newsbayarea pic.twitter.com/DYCplP4wxK
— Ryan Curry (@RyanCurryTV) May 20, 2023
The wounded man was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where he later died, police said.
The Chief Medical Examiner’s Office has not released his identity.
The shooting spurred multiple investigations including by the police, the District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Police Accountability.
Police are expected to hold a community meeting within 10 days of the shooting, where they typically release body-worn camera footage from the incident and confirm the names of any officers who opened fire.
The San Francisco Police Department declined to release further details on Saturday morning.
This is the first time San Francisco police have shot and killed a person during the tenure of District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who will decide whether to file criminal charges against any officers who discharged their weapons.
The last deadly shooting by SFPD was a year before Friday’s incident, when officers shot and killed two homeless men wrestling over a knife beneath a freeway overpass near the edge of Potrero Hill. That case remains under investigation by the California Department of Justice.
Michael Barba can be reached at [email protected]
