The man fatally shot after plowing through the Chinese consulate in San Francisco had knives and a crossbow when he broke into the premises and looked for the “CCP,” according to witnesses.
Catch up: The man, whose identity has not been released, rammed a blue Honda Civic into the lobby of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China near Japantown at around 3 p.m. on Monday. He was bleeding when he stepped out of the car and yelled, “Where’s the CCP [Chinese Communist Party]?”
Minutes later, a large police presence arrived at the scene. The man was shot and taken to a hospital, where he died.
What witnesses are saying: Witnesses recalled the man as being armed with knives and a crossbow, according to reports. They also confirmed he was bleeding.
“I turned back and I saw the guy was taking out a crossbow, like one of those crossbows [for] shooting things,” Tony Xin, who was among 20 people processing their visas, told KTVU. He also said the man had carried two knives.
Audrey Sun, another witness, told KGO that the man “wasn’t making much sense.” She said guards tried to fight him off with whatever was around them.
“I was standing to the side and then everyone started freaking out the moment we realized that he had a knife in his hand,” Sun recalled. As she and others made for the exit, one reportedly claimed to have seen a firearm in the back of the man’s car.
Visa office closure: The incident resulted in the indefinite closure of the consulate’s visa office. As of Tuesday, a metal door was closed to deter visitors.
The office, however, is still processing “emergency applications” via email. These include matters such as the death or critical illness of a family member, according to the consulate.
White House responds: The White House has issued a statement in response to the violent crash, which police say is being investigated as an international incident. “We condemn this incident and all violence perpetrated against foreign diplomatic staff working in the United States,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.
Meanwhile, a White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said investigators believe the man was “acting with malign intent,” according to AP News. The official said U.S. authorities are in contact with Chinese foreign ministry officials.
