A bizarre sequence of events early Wednesday morning resulted in a Lincoln Town Car driver being rushed to the hospital after he was robbed at gunpoint.

While not on active call, the driver of the Town Car was passing through the intersection of 18th and Mission streets at 4:15 a.m. when a bullet struck the windshield. Unharmed by the gunfire, the driver continued driving to Guerrero Street and Clinton Park, where police said he crashed into a parked car. At some point between the gunshots and the car crash, the driver claims that two men robbed him at gunpoint, stealing his cash and jewelry.

Following the crash, the driver called the police and was rushed to the hospital after complaining of pain from the collision — the injuries were minor, San Francisco Police Department spokesman Albie Esparza said. The police are investigating inconsistencies in the driver’s story and are canvassing the neighborhood for video surveillance. Anyone with information regarding the incidents should contact the police directly or through their anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444.

Later that morning, at 5:40 a.m., two men between the ages of 40 and 50 robbed a store at 18th and Sanchez streets. One of the suspects approached the cashier, placing a water bottle and a pack of gum on the counter to purchase. While the cashier began to ring up the items, the second suspect went behind the counter and the first suspect drew his gun and demanded cash.

Once the cashier handed over the contents of the register, the suspects fled in an unknown direction. The clerk was unharmed.

Police are canvassing the neighborhood and pulling video surveillance from the store to identify the suspects. Most crimes of this nature are opportunistic and many of the suspects tend to be career criminals, said Esparza. Consequently investigators often have a good chance of identifying the suspects from surveillance videos.

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Courtney Quirin is a trained wildlife ecologist turned environmental journalist with a knack for photography and visual storytelling. Though her interests span many topics and disciplines, she's particularly keen on capturing multimedia stories pertaining to the global wildlife trade, human-wildlife relationships, food security, international development and the effects of global markets on local environments and cultural fabric. Courtney completed a MSc in Wildlife Management at the University of Otago, New Zealand, where she not only learned how to catch and tag fur seals (among many things) but also traveled to the highlands of Ethiopia to identify the nature and extent of farmer-primate conflict and its linkages to changes in political regime, land tenure, food security, and perceptions of risk. From New Zealand Courtney landed at The Ohio State University to investigate urban coyotes for her PhD, but just shy of 2 years deep into the degree, she realized that her true passions lie within investigative journalism. Since moving into the world of journalism, Courtney has been a contributor to Bay Nature Magazine, a ghostwriter for WildAid, and the science writer for Academia.edu. While at Berkeley's J-School Courtney will focus on international environmental reporting through the lens of documentary filmmaking and TV.

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