SF Gate – by Peter Fimrite and Erin Allday
An extensive hours-long manhunt for a suspect believed to have shot a San Francisco police officer came up empty Saturday night, police said.
The officer, whose name was not released, was listed in serious but stable condition after being shot Saturday afternoon during a vehicle stop in the Mission District.
The suspected shooter fled the scene, and police found his car abandoned in Daly City. But after shutting down several streets near Serramonte Center for more than five hours and going door to door searching for the suspect, police called off the search of the neighborhood around 8:45 p.m.
“The person we are looking for is not here,” said Officer Gordon Shyy, a police spokesman. “We had reason to believe he had prior contact in the area. He was not at those residences.”
Police had closed several blocks of Clarinada Avenue – where the suspect’s car was found – between St. Francis and Callen boulevards. In the early evening, special weapons teams entered several houses with police dogs. The mall remained open, but police stopped residents in the area from entering their homes.
San Francisco police considered the suspect armed and dangerous, and they told residents in the area to remain vigilant of suspicious activity in the neighborhood, said Officer Albie Esparza, a police spokesman.
Shyy said the search would continue. Police said they believe they know the identity of the suspect, but they did not release his name or other information.
As police began removing barricades from the closed-off streets, residents clustered nearby, eager to get back to their homes.
At least 20 residents had been waiting near Serramonte Center while police searched the neighborhood. Adeline Canares, 44, said she got to the scene about 5 p.m. and found her street blocked off. She called her husband, who told her about the manhunt and said he was stuck in their home on Callan Boulevard.
“So I’m stuck out here, and if (my husband) came out, he couldn’t go back. And now my cell phone is out of batteries,” Canares said. “I’m just worried because I want to go home and rest and eat.”
The shooting occurred around 2:45 p.m. on Florida Street between 25th and 26th streets after police received a complaint about a suspicious car on the block, Police Chief Greg Suhrsaid during a media briefing at San Francisco General Hospital, where the wounded officer was taken.
Two officers in a marked police car spotted the car, and one of them approached the suspect’s vehicle, Suhr said. A witness reported hearing multiple shots fired from the suspect’s car. The second officer saw the suspect’s car back up and fired multiple shots at it, Suhr said.
Suhr said bullets hit the car, but he did not know if the suspect was struck by the gunfire.
Less than an hour later, the suspect’s car was found in Daly City. Suhr said investigators canvassed the area, looking for anyone who might have seen the suspect leave the car.
The officer who was shot is 28 years old and a six-year veteran of the Police Department, Suhr said. He was hit in the shoulder and was in serious but stable condition after surgery. The officer’s name will not be released until family members are notified.
Suhr said emergency responders from the Fire Department wrapped a tourniquet around the officer’s arm before taking him to the hospital. “The Fire Department really saved this officer’s life,” Suhr said.
One witness to the shooting, who did not want to be named, said he heard six or seven gunshots. The witness described the suspect’s car as a 1970s Ford Mustang.
Peter Fimrite and Erin Allday are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail:pfimrite@sfchronicle.com, eallday@sfchronicle.com
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Police-seeking-suspect-in-shooting-of-S-F-officer-5300494.php
wisenheimer? I think that’s a legitimate question these days.
Wow, Steve McQueen just rolled up and started shooting, huh? I believe it! Then they had to go door to door because we’re too stupid to know if an armed stranger is in our house. He might be hiding in a dresser drawer or a gun safe or something. The whole premise of being able to call the cops on someone else is ludicrous. Even if this hoax was real then still if idiots would just mind their own friggin business nobody would have gotten shot or inconvenienced. Nobody’s rights would have been violated. No overtime or workers comp money would have been spent during the great recession depression. You should only be able to call the cops, meaning duly elected Sheriff, when YOU need help.
“The officer, whose name was not released, was listed in serious but stable condition after being shot Saturday afternoon during a vehicle stop in the Mission District.”
WHEN are these idiots going to learn how to fire fatal shots???