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 The Sunday evening shooting came as law enforcement officers
around the United States have been on edge since two New York police
officers were killed on Dec. 20 by a gunman who said he was seeking
to avenge the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of white
police officers.
In the San Francisco incident, the man was seen loitering in the
parking lot of the San Francisco Police Department's Mission station
on Sunday and was asked to leave, police said in a statement.
The man, whose identity was not immediately released, then stood in
the driveway of the parking lot, blocking the exit of the police
sergeants as they tried to leave in a car, police said.
The sergeants got out of the vehicle and told him to leave, and the
man walked out of the lot and lifted his sweater, showing what
appeared to be the butt of a handgun, police said.
 Police said the sergeants shot the man three times as he lifted what
was later determined to be an air pistol that shoots BBs or pellets,
not a handgun, from his waistband.
Police said a search of the man's phone revealed suicide letters
including one titled, "Dear Officer(s)." The letter was released
with the permission of the killed man's father, police said.
"You did nothing wrong. You ended the life of a man who was too much
of a coward to do it himself," the letter said, according to police.
"Please, don't blame yourself. I used you. I took advantage of you,"
it added, police said.
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The man was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where he died of
his injuries on Sunday evening. San Francisco police officials said
they plan to hold a town hall meeting to discuss the fatal shooting.
The man shot by police had approached officers earlier in the day to
ask what kind of guns they carried and if they had been involved in
any shootings, police said.
(Additional reporting by Emmett Berg and Curtis Skinner; Writing by
Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Lisa Shumaker)
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