Six people including a police officer were injured in a shootout Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco’s Excelsior District, according to police.
Police were investigating a report of a person with a gun in the 200 block of Amazon Avenue around 4:30 p.m. when an officer entered the Amazon Barber Shop at the corner of Geneva Avenue and London Street.
Police Chief Bill Scott said the officer made contact with a suspect and shots were exchanged, injuring the officer and five other people including the suspect.
All five were taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, according to hospital spokesman Brent Andrew.
The officer is listed in fair condition.
Of the remaining patients, one is a minor whose condition was not released. The others were all men between the ages of 24 and 48.
Andrew initially said one person was in critical condition, one in serious condition and the other two in fair condition.
However, later in the evening police said that two people were in critical condition after the incident, including the suspect.
Bystander video showed a chaotic scene during the shooting, with one officer visible crawling away from the barber shop.
One neighborhood resident, Toren Beitler, said he came outside after he heard gunshots close to where he lives.
He said he was told that “two people were arguing and the cops got called.” He heard what sounded like five shots fired and then three in return.
Supervisor Ahsha Safai said the barber shop was a family run neighborhood shop where many people he knew got their hair cut. He said he understood the suspect had run inside.
“It had nothing to do with the business at all,” Safai said.
Beitler said he felt like there had been a lot of violence in the area, but Safai described the incident as very unusual for the neighborhood.
“This is an extremely safe neighborhood,” he said.
Police advised the public to avoid the area near Mission Street and Geneva Avenue.
Police said there is no ongoing threat to the community but traffic in the area remained congested following the shooting.
#BREAKING: Police activity along the 900 block of Geneva Avenue. Please avoid the area until further notice.
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) March 22, 2018
This story was updated Thursday morning to reflect the latest information from police on the condition of the suspect and other victims.
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