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SF police fatally shoot suspect at SoMa residential hotel

San Francisco police shot and killed a man during a confrontation inside a South of Market residential hotel on Friday morning, after responding to a report of a suspect with a knife, authorities said.

The man was struck by gunfire at the Covered Wagon Hotel at 917 Folsom St. at around 8:05 a.m., according to law enforcement sources and a San Francisco Police Department spokesperson. The man succumbed to his injuries after being taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, police said.

His identity has not been released by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

By late morning, police had cordoned off the sidewalk of Folsom Street between 4th and 5th streets with crime–scene tape, while investigators interviewed witnesses.

Officer Robert Rueca, a police spokesperson, told reporters gathered at the scene that responding officers “felt the need” to discharge their firearms, but declined to go into further details about the encounter.

"Every detail regarding this incident is being investigated," Rueca said. “We’re not able to state the weapons and the amount of shots fired… That is all being scrutinized and we are looking at every piece of detail for this incident.”

Police escorted those who live and work on the block in and out of the area.

Patrick Bingman, a resident at the CW Hotel, said he had to step over a police line as he left the building at around 10 a.m.

“In the hallway, into the lobby, there was blood, paper and clothes all over the place,” Bingman told the SF Standard. “I had to go over the tape to get out.”

SFPD interviews a witness in front of CW Hotel on Fifth and Folsom streets on Nov. 19, 2021. | Camille Cohen

Another man who identified himself as a resident of the hotel but declined to give his last name said he was doing laundry around 8 a.m. when he heard a person screaming about Donald Trump, and then gunshots.

“I heard him talking to a staff member. He was like, ‘I have no problem with you guys. I don’t like Donald Trump,’” said the man, who gave his name as Chris L. “Then I heard what I thought was someone hitting the dryer with a broomstick… My roommate said, ‘It sounded to me like gunshots.’”

No officers were injured in the encounter. Police have not released the names of any officers who discharged their firearms. The incident is being investigated by multiple entities including the SFPD, Department of Police Accountability and District Attorney’s Office.

Police are expected to hold a community meeting within the next 10 days to release further details.

Michael Barba can be reached at mbarba@sfstandard.com
David Sjostedt can be reached at david@sfstandard.com

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