Fatal shot in San Francisco pier shooting was ricochet

FILE - This undated photo provided by the San Francisco Police Department shows Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez. A San Francisco judge is set to hear evidence in a shooting at a city pier that became a flashpoint in the national immigration debate because the suspect was released from jail despite a request from federal immigration authorities to keep him locked up. Sanchez is due in court on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, for a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to try him on a murder charge in the July slaying of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle. Sanchez has pleaded not guilty. (San Francisco Police Department via AP, File) FILE - This undated photo provided by the San Francisco Police Department shows Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez. A San Francisco judge is set to hear evidence in a shooting at a city pier that became a flashpoint in the national immigration debate because the suspect was released from jail despite a request from federal immigration authorities to keep him locked up. Sanchez is due in court on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, for a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to try him on a murder charge in the July slaying of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle. Sanchez has pleaded not guilty. (San Francisco Police Department via AP, File)

By Associated Press August 27, 2015 3 min read

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The shot that killed a young San Francisco woman and touched off a heated immigration debate ricocheted off pavement before striking her in the back, which defense attorneys say show the killing was an accident.

But San Francisco police inspector John Evans testified the bullet traveled in a straight line, suggesting Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez was pointing the gun in the direction of Kate Steinle, 32.

The competing versions of the same event emerged Wednesday during the second day of a preliminary hearing held to determine if there’s enough evidence for Lopez-Sanchez to stand trial on murder charges. A third day of testimony is expected Thursday. A judge will rule later.

Evans testified Wednesday that investigators found a spot on Pier 14 where a bullet left a mark on July 1 before striking Steinle in the back as she walked with her father. San Francisco medical examiner Michael Hunter also testified Wednesday that the bullet made a rectangular-shaped wound rather than a typical oval-shaped wound, indicating too that the bullet had ricocheted before striking Steinle.

Nonetheless, prosecutors have charged Lopez-Sanchez with intentionally firing at Steinle.