Chilling moments in South San Francisco Saturday night saw police detain a suspect reportedly armed and loading a handgun on Dolores Way after a concerned onlooker raised the alarm. The South San Francisco Police Department confirmed they swooped in on the situation on April 1 around 10 pm, confronting a suspect matching the wary citizen’s description – a man panting and looking shady as he armed himself while marching towards Hillside Boulevard.

According to the police department's social media post, the alleged gunman, described as around 5’10” tall with a light complexion, was decked out in a black ski mask paired with a black puffer jacket and red pants he was nabbed by officers as he trekked eastbound towards a vehicle; before his arrest, they scoured the nearby shrubby area, unearthing a loaded black Springfield XDS handgun tossed aside in the foliage.

Further digging revealed the firearm's unsavory past, with a records check pointing to its origins as a stolen piece from Reno, Nevada. An infield showing allowed for the suspect's positive identification by the individual who first reported to SSFPD the suspicious behavior unfolding on Dolores Way; officers discovered suspected narcotics on the suspect during a search incident to arrest, confirming the looming threat that had been neutralized, the suspect was slapped with several firearm and narcotics violations.

The successful interception and arrest by the South San Francisco Police was applauded, with an update declaring, "Great work by our weekday Graveyard and Swingshift officers!!!"