SF police investigating shooting at Burlington Coat Factory

San Francisco police at the scene of a shooting outside of the Burlington Coat Factory at Fifth and Howard streets on Tuesday, August 15, 2017. San Francisco police at the scene of a shooting outside of the Burlington Coat Factory at Fifth and Howard streets on Tuesday, August 15, 2017. Photo: Chris Preovolos/SFGATE Photo: Chris Preovolos/SFGATE Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close SF police investigating shooting at Burlington Coat Factory 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

A security guard at the Burlington Coat Factory shot a man Tuesday at the entrance to the San Francisco store, police said.

Two witnesses, one inside the store and one outside, said they heard four shots, with at least one hitting the 32-year-old man.

The victim was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, said police spokeswoman Grace Gatpandam.

One of the women said she was approaching the entrance to the store at 5th and Howard streets at about 2:35 p.m. when she heard the shots.

“We just started running,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons. “I panicked.”

Gatpandam said the circumstances leading to the shooting were under investigation. She was unable to confirm whether the security guard was employed by Burlington and whether he was armed or if the victim had a gun.

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Another woman inside the store said she was paying for her purchases when she heard the shots and later saw a man lying on the ground.

Police briefly diverted traffic off 5th Street from Mission to Fremont streets for about 30 minutes.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker