Man Who Police Shot and Killed at SFO Allegedly was Armed with Two Guns and Behaving in 'Threatening Manner'

Jan. 20—San Francisco police officers shot and killed a man they said was armed with two handguns and behaving in a threatening manner inside San Francisco International Airport's International Terminal on Thursday morning.

The confrontation unfolded at 7:26 a.m. after police received several calls reporting a man causing a disturbance near the BART entrance to the terminal's Main Hall and outside the Reflection Room, said Officer Grace Gatpandan of the San Francisco Police Department. Officers from the department's airport bureau rushed to the scene, where the man was brandishing two guns, airport spokesperson Doug Yakel said.

Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, Yakel said, "but the suspect continued to demonstrate threatening behavior." Police fired beanbag projectiles at the man but he continued to advance — and officers fired several shots at him "to neutralize the threat," he said. Gatpandan said police administered first aid to the man but he died on the scene.

Luis, an Air Canada concierge who came upon the conflict as he got off BART to report for work, later heard the shots from a break room where he hunkered down with co-workers.

"Bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu," said Luis, who declined to give his last name, describing the gunfire. "Oh my God, we said, shots."

Another man, a bystander, suffered minor injuries, possibly from a ricochet, according to Yakel.

He was treated and released from a local hospital.

The suspect's name has not been released and police have not said why they believe he brought deadly weapons to the airport. But Gatpandan said police do not believe he was a terrorist. The person was described by BART police who arrived at the scene at about 7:40 a.m. as a man in his 20s, according to radio traffic reviewed by The Chronicle.

San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said his office would handle the investigation into the shooting, along with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and San Francisco police. The San Francisco Police Department provides law enforcement at the airport, but it sits in San Mateo County. A town hall meeting on the police shooting will be held in about 10 days, Gatpandan said, in keeping with a department policy on shootings involving on-duty police.

Police did not detail how long the encounter between the armed man and police lasted before responding officers fired gunshots, but Gatpandan said, "it wasn't something that happened right off the bat." She said about 45 minutes passed from the time officers were sent to the scene until a call went out for medical help.

"This was not an encounter that occurred and ended in 10 minutes," she said. "It was enough time to get resources to this location to help de-escalate the situation."

Airport officials reported the situation was under control at about 8:20 a.m. BART announced at 8:48 a.m. that it was reopening the SFO station and restoring regular service after briefly rerouting trains to avoid the incident while it unfolded at SFO.

Luis was getting off BART at the SFO station at around 7:30 a.m. when he saw five police officers with their guns drawn shouting at BART passengers to "go back."

Though he didn't see the suspect, Luis said he tried to help police turn other passengers back toward an exit on the other side of the station.

"Just go back! Shooter! Shooter!" he yelled later, Luis said.

"I'm a little shaken," he said. "I've never been through this in my life."

Although BART service to San Francisco International Airport resumed around 9 a.m., the system canceled several trains, leaving some passengers marooned — and frantic — on the Millbrae platform.

Amy Shipley of Oakland and Magdalena Mielczarek of Canada dashed upstairs to catch an Uber together, with a couple of other travelers trailing behind. Neither was aware of the shooting until a reporter informed them.

"I just hope they have everything under control," Mielczarek said, her eyes wide. Shipley remained tense as they climbed into the Uber and began coasting down Highway 101.

Others making their way to the airport were confronted with a frenetic scene.

"When I got here, the road was blocked and there were lots of police," said Hetal Panchal of Crescent City, who was heading to India to visit family.

The incident had a minor impact on airport operations. Passengers were diverted from the International Terminal entrance, and the airport temporarily closed a nearby security checkpoint and rerouted passengers to another terminal for screening.

By 9:45 a.m., operations at SFO appeared to return to normal and the buzz of activity resumed, though police barricaded a section of SFO's international terminal leading directly to the airport's BART station for the rest of the day.

The barricade appeared to confuse some passengers bound for the BART station while others who wandered through the terminal paused at the sight of the yellow police tape. San Francisco native Keyanti Criswell had just arrived from an Austin, Texas, flight when he walked past the police barricade, looking for directions to get to BART.

"It's disappointing when you hear something like that," said Criswell, who came to visit his mother. "That somebody had to lose their life because of senseless violence."

Chronice staff writers Matthias Gafni, Megan Cassidy and Dominic Fracassa contributed to this report.

Ricardo Cano, Rachel Swan and Michael Cabanatuan are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: [email protected]; [email protected] and [email protected] Twitter: @byricardocano, @rachelswan and @ctuan

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