Police officers are seen outside the visa office of the Chinese consulate, where earlier a vehicle crashed into the building, in San Francisco, California, on Oct 9, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

A spokesman for the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco called the alleged ramming of the building Monday afternoon by a driver "extremely egregious".

A suspect crashed his blue Honda sedan into the consulate building and was shot by police, according to authorities and local news reports. The identity of the driver was not released.

A man covered in blood was taken away on a stretcher outside the consulate building and rushed into an ambulance, according to a witness surnamed Liu

A man covered in blood was taken away on a stretcher outside the consulate building and rushed into an ambulance, according to a witness surnamed Liu.

"The incident has posed a serious threat to the lives of the staff and the people at the scene, causing serious damage to the facilities and our property," the consulate spokesman said.

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The San Francisco Standard, citing unnamed sources, said police shot the driver, believing that the person was armed. The Standard reported that the building was evacuated.

"Our consulate strongly condemns this violent attack and reserves the right to hold those relevant to this incident accountable," the spokesman said. "Our consulate has made solemn request to the United States for truth to be quickly ascertained, and the US side handle the case seriously in accordance with the law.

Police officers are seen outside the visa office of the Chinese consulate, where earlier a vehicle crashed into the building, in San Francisco, California, on Oct 9, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

"We also urge the United States to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the San Francisco Consulate General of China and its premises, in line with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the Sino-US Consular Treaty," he said.

San Francisco police and fire crews rushed to the scene and shut down Geary Boulevard near Laguna Street for further investigation.

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The visa office at the consulate was open for business at the time of the incident, and security guards were present.