SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Police officers on Monday shot the driver of a vehicle that drove into the lobby of the Chinese Consulate and Visa Office building in San Francisco, city police said.
Official details of the incident were unclear, and police said the identity of the motorist and what caused the accident were not yet known. No one else has been injured in the incident.
“I don’t know how many people were inside the visa office at the time of the collision,” San Francisco Police Department spokeswoman Sergeant Katherine Winters told reporters at a news briefing hours later.
“When officers arrived on scene here, they found the vehicle stopped inside the lobby of the Chinese Consulate. Officers entered, made contact with the suspect and fired shots at an officer,” Winters said. “The suspect was later pronounced dead at the hospital. This is an open and active investigation.”
Police are coordinating with U.S. State Department investigators, he said, adding, “There is very little information we can provide at this time.”
[1/3]Law enforcement members stand on the street near the Chinese Consulate, where local media reported that a vehicle may have crashed into the building in San Francisco, California, US, on October 9, 2023. Reuters/Nathan Frandino acquires licensing rights
The Chinese diplomatic post in San Francisco issued a statement saying, “An unknown person violently entered the document hall of the Consulate, causing a serious threat to the safety of staff and people at the scene, and damaging the facilities and property. Serious damage was caused.” Of the Consulate.”
The consulate said it “strongly condemns this violent attack and reserves the right to take responsibility for the incident.”
The Consulate said in a statement released on its WeChat account that it will temporarily close its Consular Certificate Hall from October 10. The consulate said it would inform the public when services would resume.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the incident.
The ABC television affiliate station in San Francisco reported that its news crews saw a bloodied man being carried away from the scene on a stretcher and taken to an ambulance.
Reporting by Nathan Frandino in San Francisco; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Bernard Orr in Beijing, Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California, and Michelle Nichols, Sam Holmes and Kim Coghill in New York Editing by Sam Holmes and Kim Coghill
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