The San Francisco Police Department has released body camera footage showing seven of its officers shooting 65 rounds at an armed murder suspect who opened fire first.
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According to the SFPD, the incident began when officers responded to a shots-fired call on the evening of Feb. 16. They arrived to find several residents who indicated that the shots came from inside the Panhandle, a park in the area. The officers went into the park and found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds. They called for an ambulance and administered first aid. Medics arrived shortly thereafter and pronounced one of the victims dead. The second victim was taken to an area hospital.
A carjacking victim flagged down officers nearby shortly after the shooting. After an investigation, it was determined that the carjacker was the shooter in the earlier incident. Police issued a bulletin ID’ing a man named Joel Armstrong as the suspect in both the shooting and carjacking.
A couple of hours later, San Francisco police found the carjacking vehicle parked behind an RV. Suspecting the RV was occupied and connected to the carjacking vehicle, an officer looked inside and saw Armstrong in the RV. Police set up a perimeter and ordered everybody out of the RV. Three people and a dog exited, but Armstrong did not.
San Francisco Police Fire Back
SFPD officers repeatedly ordered Armstrong out of the RV, but he refused to comply. He then opened fire from a 9mm handgun from inside the RV. The officers fired 65 rounds in response. Eventually, Armstrong exited the RV. He was taken into custody. He didn’t sustain any injuries as a result of the shooting.
“Nobody was struck by gunfire during this incident. The evidence in the case so far indicates Armstrong fired two rounds from a weapon, and that seven officers fired 65 rounds from their department-issued weapons,” SFPD Commander Greg McEachern told KTVU.
Armstrong, 31, is facing multiple charges, including murder, eight counts of attempted murder, carjacking, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, discharge of a firearm, and receiving stolen property.
