Earlier in the day, about 16 miles away, police shot a woman who officials say was armed and pointed a gun at law enforcement.
SAN ANTONIO — Hours after authorities said a San Antonio police officer shot a suspicious person who pointed a gun at law enforcement in the Medical Center area Thursday evening, a similar situation unfolded on the south side about 16 miles away.
Unlike the earlier incident, however, authorities said this one near Southwest Military and Interstate 35 proved to be deadly. The unidentified 35-year-old man was the 12th person shot and killed in an encounter with on-duty SAPD personnel this year.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said officers had been tracking the man after a string of robberies he was suspected in. After hearing that he was planning to target another convenience store Thursday night, undercover officers were dispatched to wait for him.
The man eventually arrived and robbed the store, at which point police were going to “stop him at an address that we believed he was going to go to,” McManus said.
“But because of the situation in that address, we didn’t want to do it,” the chief added, without going into specifics.
Officers instead tried to pull the man over while driving, but McManus said he fled, eventually ditching his car to try and escape on foot. But he hit an obstacle in or near the 1400 block of Cantrell Drive.
“At some point he ran into a fence,” McManus said. “He had a gun in his hand, he turned to the officers and reports are that he pointed the weapon. He was shot by the officers he pointed the weapon at.”
The man was killed at the scene, the chief said. It’s unknown exactly how many officers discharged their weapons or how many shots were fired. It isn’t believed any police were injured.
The man was wanted for at least four robberies, the police chief said, adding his information was preliminary and could change as the investigation continues. This marks the 17th shooting overall involving San Antonio police this year.
Earlier in the day, in the area of Babcock and Roanoke Run, McManus said an officer believed to have less than a year of SAPD service time shot a woman who was waving a gun before pointing it at police. At last check, she was in surgery.