By Canadian Press

Car rams into Chinese Consulate in San Francisco and police fatally shoot driver, officers say

Oct 9, 2023 | 10:29 PM

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A car rammed into the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco on Monday, coming to a stop in the lobby and creating a chaotic scene that ended with police shooting the driver, who later died at the hospital, officials said.

Police descended on the consulate building just after 3 p.m. following a report of a vehicle crashing into the building and officials urged people to avoid the area. Officers entered the lobby of the consulate’s visa office and shot the suspect, police Sgt. Kathryn Winters said during a short news conference. Winters didn’t say what prompted police to open fire or how many officers fired weapons.

Despite “life-saving efforts” the suspect died at the hospital, police said.

Television cameras showed a Honda sedan crashed into the visa office and the doors in front of the building were cordoned off.

Winters said they didn’t know why the vehicle crashed into the building or how many people were inside at the time but said they didn’t have reports of other injuries.

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Police are working and coordinating with investigators from the U.S. State Department and the Chinese Consulate.

“I wish I could give you more but this is a very complex investigation,” Winters said.

A statement from the Chinese Consulate general denounced Monday’s incident.

“On the afternoon of October 9, 2023, local time, an unidentified person drove a vehicle and violently crashed into the document hall of our consulate, posing a serious threat to the safety of staff and people on site, and damaging the facilities of our consulate,” the statement said. “Our embassy severely condemns this violent attack.”

The consulate said that it has demanded more details about the incident and asked that it be “dealt with seriously in accordance with the law.”

The consulate is on a major street across from the city’s Japantown neighborhood.

The Associated Press