SF police officer kills auto burglary suspect

A man suspected of auto burglary was fatally shot by a San Francisco police officer Tuesday night near South Park after police say he pointed a handgun at them, Police Chief Greg Suhr said.

Another suspect was injured in the shooting, which occurred around 9 p.m. near 2nd and Bryant streets, just blocks from AT&T Park where fans were leaving after watching the Giants win their Division Series.

Suhr said police officers were patrolling the neighborhood because of the crowds from the ball game when they spotted a four-door sedan driving around the block several times. Suhr said the officers began watching the vehicle because the three men inside appeared to be casing parked cars.

The officers followed the men, who parked their car on the 400 block of Bryant Steet then broke into a Mercedes-Benz parked on Jack London Alley, Suhr said. The men stole items from the vehicle then returned to their car, where officers confronted them, Suhr said.

As the officers moved in to arrest the men, he said, the driver pulled out a handgun; when he refused to drop it, an officer opened fire, according to Suhr. The driver and the rear passenger were struck by the officer’s fire, Suhr said. The front passenger attempted to flee but was arrested about 50 feet away, he said.

The two injured suspected were taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where the driver died of his injuries, Suhr said. He did not know the passenger’s condition.

Suhr said the officer who shot the suspects will be placed on administrative leave and that the incident will be investigated by the district attorney. He said there appears to be surveillance videos in the area that investigators can review.

The shooting comes less than two weeks after San Francisco officers shot and killed a Richmond carjacking suspect who led police on a three-county vehicle chase after allegedly trying to kidnap a woman from her driveway.

Kale Williams and Marisa Lagos are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com, mlagos@sfchronicle.com. Twitter @sfkale, @mlagos