Carjacker Dies in S.F. Shootout

Wearing bulletproof vests and military fatigues, two gunmen ran down a street here Sunday, firing several assault-style weapons, shooting a paramedic and two police officers--one critically--before being shot by police, officials said.

One officer was in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital with a head wound. The other, shot in the chest, was in serious condition, said nursing supervisor Gloria Rodriguez. One gunman was fatally shot at the scene, officials said. The other was reported in stable condition with a leg wound.

The paramedic was in stable condition with a wound in the left forearm, Rodriguez said.

The bomb squad was called to the scene to check the dead gunman’s body, which police said may have had explosives on it.

Neighbors said the exchange of gunfire lasted as long as 25 minutes.

The incident started with a carjacking in Mountain View, south of San Francisco, police said. The two men then drove into San Francisco, where they carjacked a BMW being driven by a woman near the corner of Franklin and Pine streets around 6:40 p.m.

When police responded to calls of the carjacking, the pair opened fire.

The gunmen ran down the street with as many as six weapons, some of them automatic, according to Officer Mark Madsen.

They fired and reloaded as they went, getting off as many as 200 rounds before being shot down, an officer told KCBS radio.

A police spokesman said the first officer was shot upon arriving at the scene. The other was shot on a rooftop.

The gunfire exchange left cars riddled with bullet holes and windows shattered. Shell casings littered the street.

“It was crazy, it was constant,” said Mimi Mehrabi, who lives on the block in the Pacific Heights district. “It was a really scary thing. Cops were hiding behind buildings and behind their cars.”

The gunmen’s identities were unknown.

Frightened residents took cover in their apartments during the hail of bullets, and customers at a nearby restaurant hit the floor.