SFPD Says Kenneth Harding's Gun Found

SAN FRANCISCO (Bay City News)

San Francisco police say they have recovered the gun used by Kenneth Harding, the 19-year-old man who died in a shooting that involved police in the Bayview District on July 16. (SFPD press release here.)

The .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol was recovered after a Bayview resident led police to the gun following a weeklong community effort, police said today.

Harding died after he exchanged fire with police officers who were conducting San Francisco Municipal Railway fare enforcement near Third and Palou streets.

Police said officers shot at Harding after he fired at them.

Police later said an autopsy showed that the bullet that killed Harding did not come from a police gun, and that he appeared to have shot himself.

They said video taken just after the shooting shows someone picking up Harding's gun and walking away with it.

Ballistic tests conducted by the Police Department's crime lab confirmed that the .380-caliber gun recovered by investigators is the gun that fired the fatal shot, according to police.

Earlier in the investigation, police recovered a .45-caliber gun at a local parolee's house that they initially believed was Harding's gun.

Related:

• Explaining the Discrepancy Between SFPD Guns and Bullet Found in Kenneth Harding (News Fix)
• Mother of Kenneth Harding defends son (News Fix)