San Francisco

San Francisco police shoot man reported with gun outside Powell Street BART station

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A police shooting Friday morning shut down the Powell Street BART station in San Francisco.

At least two officers shot what they said was an armed man, according to police.

The shooting happened just outside the Powell Street BART station at Hallidie Plaza. San Francisco police Chief Bill Scott said the incident started a block and a half away.

"Our officers were patrolling the area of 400 Jessie Street when they observed a man in a car armed with a gun," Scott said.

Scott said the officers tried talking to the man, but he took off and ran into a nearby liquor store.

More officers arrived on scene and they tried unsuccessfully to contain the man as he started walking toward the Powell Street BART station a block away.

Once inside Hallidie Plaza, police said he was shot by at least two officers.

It is not clear what happened in the plaza that led up to the shooting. The man with a gun was taken away by ambulance and is in fair condition at a local hospital.

Investigators are still trying to figure out exactly who he is and why he was sitting in a car with a gun out in the open.

"We have confirmed that the car is stolen," Scott said. "The car that he was in was stolen. As far as his residency, we do not have a name for him, but we have to confirm before we put that out."

For people in the area, seeing so many police converge on Powell Street was startling, but not unusual.

A police spokesman said officers were in the area as part of a healthy street operation ahead of the Dreamforce convention next week.

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