A 60-year-old South San Francisco man was fatally shot by police after an argument over tree trimming between him and a next-door neighbor escalated into violence Monday.
The man allegedly began firing at responding officers using a handgun, shotgun, and a rifle when they showed up at his home in the 300 block of Arroyo Drive at around 5:50 p.m.
The suspect “fired at officers from different locations within the driveway while seeking cover and concealment using both vehicles in the driveway and landscaping.”
“You just heard two different shots, one louder than the other, so it seemed like they were exchanging fire,” a witness recalled.
Officers returned fire, killing the man. Police said a resident of a nearby home sustained a non-life-threatening injury.
Residents said the man and his next-door neighbor had been feuding over leaves left on his property after the trimming of a large tree between their yards.
“Shrubs or bushes going into the next person’s yard, that kind of petty stuff doesn’t need to happen,” a neighbor said.
“Never seen anything like that. born and raised 26 years here.”
