San Francisco's Powell Street station became the unlikely epicenter of a police-involved shooting this morning, an incident that temporarily shuttered BART service at the bustling hub. According to a KTVU report, at approximately 10:20 a.m., San Francisco police officers engaged with a man who was armed and seated in a stationary, stolen vehicle in the 400 block of Jessie Street.
Police Chief Bill Scott provided details, explaining that upon seeing the armed man, officers formulated a plan to contain him. The situation rapidly devolved as the suspect exited the vehicle and led the police on a foot chase, culminating in an officer-involved shooting at the steps of Powell Street station, Scott told reporters. The sequence of events and the exact nature of the confrontation is still under scrutiny, with SFPD spokesman Evan Sernoffsky offering a terse, "That is under investigation" when pressed on whether an officer shot the man, as per KTVU.
This violent exchange prompted a substantial law enforcement response, forcing closures and rerouting traffic above and below ground. The Powell Street BART station was closed to commuters as part of the investigation, confirmed by BART Alerts, which advised passengers to use the Market and 4th entrance instead. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Police Department post alerted the public to media staging areas and underscored the ongoing nature of the investigation.
⚠️ Officer-Involved Shooting Incident ⚠️
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) September 13, 2024
We are currently investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred at approx. 10:30 AM at Powell Street BART station.
Media staging will be at Eddy Street & Cyril Magnin Street. pic.twitter.com/NrS5ak9hIj
Despite the suspect's gunshot wound, he was found by firefighters a short distance from where the shooting occurred and taken to the hospital in "fair" condition, per Scott's briefing. Notably, no other injuries were reported, as the shots were fired solely in the BART plaza area, KRON4 mentioned. The shooting's interruption of transit services arrived just as the city readies itself for the influx of visitors for the Salesforce Dreamforce conference, with Chief Scott assuring that officers will be "heavily deployed" during the upcoming event.
