The White House has denounced the violent incident at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco that began with a car crashing into the building and ended with police shooting the driver, who later died at a hospital.
“We condemn this incident and all violence perpetrated against foreign diplomatic staff working in the United States,” Adrienne Watson, White House National Security Council spokeswoman, to the Associated Press.
As of Tuesday, there was still little known about what led to the crash or who the driver was. A White House spokesperson who spoke to the Associated Press anonymously said officials said they think the driver was “acting with malign intent”.
On Monday afternoon, police flooded the area surrounding the consulate after a Honda sedan was seen crashed into the visa office.
“When officers arrived here on scene, they found the vehicle had come to rest inside the lobby of the Chinese consulate,” Sergeant Kathryn Winters, the San Francisco police department spokesperson, told reporters at a news briefing.
She said officers entered the building where the driver was shot by police. “The suspect was later pronounced deceased at the hospital,” Winters said.
A witness who was inside the consulate told KTVU-TV, the Bay Area’s Fox affiliate, that the man drove right through the front of the building, got out of the car bloodied and holding knives. He then began arguing with security guards who tried to detain the driver before he ran out of the building through the damaged doorway.
“I heard a really loud bang. I thought it was gunshots. I looked to the left and there was smoke,” said Tony Xin. “I turned back and saw the guy take out a crossbow.”
Xin said less than a minute after the driver got out of the car, five police officers arrived, initially with their guns drawn, and rushed into the building.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called for an investigation at a daily briefing Tuesday without giving any details about damage to the consulate or injuries to staff and visitors.
“We strongly urge the US to launch a swift investigation and take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese diplomatic missions and personnel there in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” Wang said, referring to the 1961 agreement governing relations between countries.
