One of two robbery suspects shot himself in the leg with a gun on Thursday morning after fleeing from San Francisco police, who were eventually able to arrest him and his partner.
"We were able to apprehend two bad guys tonight," San Francisco Police Night Capt. Cornelius "Con" Johnson said. "The gun is a very powerful gun. We are very fortunate no one was injured or killed here."
Johnson said that the unusual and accidental shooting occurred after a robbery was reported near Valencia and 23rd streets in the Mission District about 3 a.m. The two men reportedly were holding up a 40-year-old man at gunpoint on the street. Police said they stole the man's wallet, smart phone and watch.
Police happened to be nearby and as the suspects were running away, one of the suspects shot himself in the leg near 23rd and Bartlett streets, Johnson said. Police followed the blood trail, Johnson said, and ended up arresting the first suspect, who is 21 years old, was taken to the San Francisco General Hospital.
Police were also able to arrest the second suspect and found a gun near the scene, which had been thrown over a fence, police said. Johnson said he believed the machine gun might be a MAC-10 semi machine gun. At this point, Johnson is not sure if the suspect shot himself with that gun or a different one, he said.
When the sun came up, dozens of officers were scouring the sidewalks collecting evidence and taking photographs of the crime scene. Still, all the police activity didn't seem to bother Rachel Allen, who lives nearby and was originally unaware of what had happened, until a reporter told her.
"The machine gun part is scarier than usual," she said. "But we're sort of used to interesting activity on the street."
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Telemundo contributed to this report.
