Oakland police fatally shoot suspect near Lake Merritt

A man shot and killed by Oakland police near Lake Merritt was in possession of this handgun with an extended magazine, police say. A man shot and killed by Oakland police near Lake Merritt was in possession of this handgun with an extended magazine, police say. Photo: Henry K. Lee Photo: Henry K. Lee Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Oakland police fatally shoot suspect near Lake Merritt 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Oakland police shot and killed an armed suspect near Lake Merritt Saturday morning, the first fatal shooting involving city police in two years, authorities said.

The incident began at 7:27 a.m. when police were summoned to investigate reports by firefighters that a man in a gray 2005 BMW was passed out and armed with a gun at Lake Park Avenue and Lakeshore Avenue, at the end of the off-ramp from Interstate 580.

The man had a loaded black handgun with a 30-round extended magazine on the passenger seat, police said.

Officers took up positions around the car and cordoned off the area. Officers deployed “less-lethal” projectiles to break out the car’s windows in hopes of waking the man, police said. He didn’t respond. Then officers approached the car and smashed the passenger side window with a metal pipe in what police said was an “attempt to establish communication with the driver.”

About 8:40 a.m., police engaged the suspect — who was by then awake — and a confrontation ensued during which one officer fired a Taser shock weapon and a second fired a gun, said Police Chief Sean Whent. The man, whose name wasn’t released, died at Highland Hospital in Oakland.

The BMW was the same car briefly chased by police hours earlier after a burglary in San Francisco, Whent said. It was unclear if the slain man was a suspect in the burglary, he said.

A section of bustling Lakeshore Avenue and the I-580 off-ramp was closed for much of the day as police examined the scene.

The shooting is under investigation by police and the Alameda County district attorney’s office. Footage from the officers’ body cameras will be reviewed, the chief said. It is Oakland’s first fatal officer involved shooting since May 2013, police said.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said she is “actively making sure that the protocols and supervision we’ve worked hard to put in place as part of our police reforms are being followed rigorously as this shooting is thoroughly investigated. Our community deserves all of the accurate and timely information that can be provided.”

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee