Suspect in shooting of SF officer dies

A man suspected of shooting a San Francisco police officer died at San Francisco General Hospital on Sunday, said hospital spokesman Brent Andrew.

The man, who has not been identified, was shot Friday night by police officers who were responding to calls about a person threatening others at the Lakeshore Plaza Shopping Center.

Police confronted the man on Everglade Drive. He opened fire on officers, police said, hitting Officer Kevin Downs in the head before fleeing across Sloat Boulevard toward Stern Grove.

The man eventually came out of bushes at 28th Avenue and Vicente Street and tried to run. Officers shot him during a confrontation and took the armed man into custody after a standoff.

Downs remained hospitalized Sunday but continued to recover, officials said. He is in his early 20s and has been on the force for two years. Along with being an officer, Downs co-founded Ranchin’ Vets, an organization that helps veterans transition from military to civilian life.

Both Downs and the gunman were taken to San Francisco General Hospital Friday night.

Downs underwent surgery to remove bullet fragments from his brain. Officials said he is partially paralyzed on one side of his body, but they would not elaborate on his prognosis or recovery process.

The gunshot was nearly fatal, interim Police Chief Toney Chaplin said Saturday. At a news conference, he said the outcome would be different had the bullet been “one centimeter down.”

Neither hospital officials nor police elaborated on the suspect’s gunshot wounds, with police saying Sunday in a statement only that “the suspect in this incident had passed due to his injuries.”

Evan Sernoffsky and Lizzie Johnson are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com, ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky, @LizzieJohnsonnn