San Francisco: Man who struck the Chinese consulate with his car is shot and killed

Man who on Monday smashed his automobile into the Chinese consulate in San Francisco was shot and killed by police.

The unnamed individual was shot, according to a police statement, when authorities arrived on the scene.

Videos posted online showed hundreds of people escaping the embassy building and a blue Honda vehicle in the lobby.

The act was denounced in a consulate statement, which also stated that it presented a “serious threat” to the staff’s and other onlookers’ safety.

“We strongly condemn this violent attack and reserve the right to pursue responsibility for the incident,” it continued.

The unidentified person is accused by China’s foreign ministry of breaking into the embassy with the intent to harm those working there.

Since then, the embassy has temporarily closed some of its offices and submitted grave representations, a diplomatic term for expressing displeasure, to the US, pleading with authorities to see to it that the situation is appropriately handled.

Although they claimed to have an ongoing, active investigation, police have not provided much information.

“When police arrived on the scene, they discovered that the car had stopped inside the Chinese consulate’s lobby. Officer-involved shooting took place after officers arrived, made contact with the subject, and attended the scene, according to Kathryn Winters, a San Francisco Police Department spokesperson.

“The suspect was later pronounced deceased at the hospital,” she said.

There is very little information we can provide at this time, she added, adding that the police were cooperating with representatives of the US state department for the inquiry.

According to police, they are still attempting to determine just how many persons were present at the office when the event occurred.

Pictures taken at the embassy shortly after the car crashed into the structure show a large police presence and that the consulate building, which is located in the city’s Japantown neighbourhood, has been sealed off.

In the lobby, chairs and queue barriers were overturned, while other furniture was scuffed.

There have been no injuries reported within the consulate.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation will be held in San Francisco next month, and Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to participate.

BBC NEWS