2 officers hurt, suspect dead in San Antonio gunfight
SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio police officer is “not expected to survive” after a routine stop just north of downtown on Thursday afternoon turned into a gunfight that left another officer injured and one suspect dead.
“This is a very grim reminder of how dangerous (policing) can be,” San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus said during a news conference Thursday evening.
The shooting comes after the ambush killing of SAPD Detective Benjamin Marconi on Nov. 20 in front of police headquarters and almost a year after a heavily armed sniper gunned down police officers in downtown Dallas, leaving five of them dead.
The San Antonio officers, both nine-year veterans, were investigating reports of a suspicious person when they stopped two suspects walking on East Evergreen Street near Main Street just north of downtown, police said.
As soon as the officers stepped out of their vehicle, one of the suspects opened fire. One officer was hit in the face and the
other in the chin and the bullet lodged in his chest, McManus said.
It was not clear what prompted the suspect to shoot.
“That is the big question right now,” McManus told reporters.
The officer shot in the chin pulled his partner out of the line of fire as more police arrived and took one of the suspects into custody.
The shooting was only two blocks away from a police station.
The suspect who opened fire was shot in the head and was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center in critical condition. Hours later, police announced that the suspect died at the hospital.
“It happened so fast,” McManus said. “One was down; one was in custody immediately. There was no further danger.”
The suspect who was apprehended was being interviewed by homicide detectives.
Both officers seriously hurt
Both officers are in “very critical” condition and are also being treated at BAMC, police said.
“The officer who was shot in the head is in grave, grave condition,” McManus said. “He is not expected to survive.”
“It’s not a good feeling to know two officers were shot during active patrol,” McManus said.
McManus said the officer shot in the chest was wearing body armor. He is expected to recover, officials said.
Both suspects were described as being in their late 20s to early 30s.
San Antonio College was placed on lockdown, which was lifted at 4:30 p.m.
Classes will resume as scheduled Friday, according to a tweet issued by the school’s Twitter account.
Homer Pahona, an employee at a nearby bar, heard what sounded like shots at about 3:15 p.m. and ran outside to see the gunfight.
“I saw one of the officers resuscitating the other,” he said.
Pup’s Pizza employee Alysia Garcia was working near a service window when she heard about seven shots ring out near Main and Evergreen streets.
“At first I thought it was just construction,” she said, approaching the window and seeing nothing at first.
When she heard a second round of shots, she ran to the window and saw police approaching a shirtless man.
“You see this guy rolling around on the floor ... all the cops came, and they grabbed him quick, really fast,” she said snapping her fingers.
McManus said the police department had boosted patrols in the neighborhood in response to an increase in street crimes. The patrols aimed “to deter crime,” he said.
While some like Garcia said they feel safe walking along Main, other residents and employees say they have noticed more homeless individuals in the neighborhood, some of whom they claimed engage in drug use and prostitution.
Laura Alexander, who has lived at the Aurora Apartments on Howard Street, which is just a couple blocks from where the shooting occurred, said many of the homeless congregate in Crockett Park.
“They’re very scary people,” said Alexander, who has lived in the apartments for six years.
Alexander said she’s seen several people use or sell drugs when she visits the park to walk her dog. Many sleep in the covered gazebo at the center of the park.
She has noticed an elevated police presence in the neighborhood, which helps alleviate the problem briefly, but soon the homeless return.
Neighborhood homeless
Mimi Rodriguez, a bartender at Sparky’s Pub, agreed. She said she sees a lot of homeless people gather in the area.
Once, she saw someone who appears to be homeless run into a gas station, steal a pack of cigarettes and flee.
“You name it; they do it,” she said.
George Pickering, who moved to the area in January, said he has noticed prostitutes at an area near a Walgreens and an Exxon.
But Tamara Hemmitt, a manager at Luther’s Cafe, said she hasn’t noticed many problems. There are occasionally issues at the gas stations, “but that happens in every neighborhood,” she said.