Police: Bayview Suspect Shot Himself

After five days of heat over the fatal shooting of a fleeing suspect in the Bayview, San Francisco police on Thursday let loose a bombshell–the young man not only had a gun, officials said, but appears to have killed himself with it.

The bullet that killed 19-year-old Kenneth Wade Harding on Saturday came from a .380-caliber firearm, authorities announced, and a round of the same caliber was recovered from Harding’s jacket pocket.

{snip}

Cmdr. Mike Biel, who heads investigations, said detectives now believe Harding fatally wounded himself as he fled from two police officers who were attempting to check whether he had a Muni ticket.

Police are still trying to find that weapon, which they believe was stolen from the crime scene.

{snip}

Police said earlier that Harding tried to shoot at the two officers during the chase. Still, the death of Harding, a Washington state parolee wanted for questioning by Seattle police in connection with a July 13 killing there, sparked outrage in the Bayview district.

{snip}

Earlier this week, police said lab tests revealed gunshot residue on Harding’s right hand, and that ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection and location system, showed that three guns were fired during a six-second period.

{snip}

Police were unable to find a gun at the scene, but video taken by a bystander shows an object on the ground roughly 10 yards from where Harding fell wounded. Biel said a man in a hooded sweatshirt picked up a gun, shell casings and a cell phone and spirited them away from the scene.

{snip}

Harding was released on parole in April in connection with charges that he tried to force a 14-year-old girl into prostitution in Seattle, and police there said he is also a person of interest in a shooting that killed 19-year-old Tanaya Gilbert and wounded three others.

The fatal shooting of Harding on a crowded street in broad daylight has angered many people. Some have said they don’t believe he was armed, while others have complained of a long history of poor relations between police and San Francisco’s African American community.

On Tuesday, 43 people were arrested during a protest that led to vandalism of a Muni station and, according to police, two assaults. On Wednesday, Police Chief Greg Suhr was booed offstage during a town hall meeting at the Bayview Opera House.

{snip}