Fatal police shooting is second in aweek
Family says man struggled with ‘mental issues’
Aman was shot and killed by San Antonio police after officials say the man pointed a gun at officers, marking the second fatal shooting by SAPD in one week.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Victor Sanchez, 44.
Officials said the officers went to the apartment complex in the 5600 block of Culebra Road about 11 p.m. Tuesday after someone — it’s unclear who — called to report a burglary.
When police arrived, no one answered the door and the apartmentwas dark, San Antonio Police Chiefwilliam Mcmanus said at the scene.
According to a preliminary
police report, the officers repeatedly knocked on the door and contacted dispatchers, asking them to call back the person who reported the burglary. They also spoke to several residents to ask whether they had seen or heard anything.
Angelic Barron, who has a
1-year-old child with Sanchez, said Sanchez had “some mental issues” and that he had been struggling after his brother, Ricardo, was killed in 2017.
“I loved him a lot,” Barron said, speaking from her bullet-riddled apartment Wednesday afternoon. “I cared about him. I knew he had some mental issues, but that never stopped me from wanting to be there for him and trying to comfort him.”
Barron said shewas inside her apartment Tuesday with Sanchez — whom she had known for about three years — when her daughter approached her. Her daughter said Sanchez had heard banging on the front door, and that hewas encouraging the girl to call police.
Barron, 29, said she opened the door and looked outside, at which point she saw several police officers in the parking lot.
Suddenly, Barron said, she heard a gunshot inside her apartment. She rushed back in and found Sanchez standing inside her children’s room holding a gun.
“He said I needed to get out because the cops were going to come in here and probably wanted to shoot,” Barron said.
Barron gathered her five children, from 1 to 12 years old. She picked up her youngest and told Sanchez that he should put down his gun and put his hands in the air.
Again, she said, he encouraged her to leave.
As Barron ran out of the apartment, she passed several police officers, all of whom were carrying shields and long guns. The officers, who had been in their patrol cars outside, returned to the apartment after hearing the shot inside.
According to police, after Barron left the apartment, the officers kept the door open and continued talking to Sanchez. They saw he was carrying a handgun and repeatedly asked him to put it down, the report states.
Sanchez retreated further into the apartment, the report states. He told officers he had a rifle and threatened to shoot, officers later said.
At that point, police said, Sanchez raised his right arm and pointed the gun directly at the officers.
Six officers fired, striking Sanchez multiple times.
Barron, who was outside, heard 15 to 20 shots. She said she ran toward her apartment, at which point several officers tackled her and placed her on the ground.
“I said, ‘Leave me alone. I need to make sure he’s OK,’ ” Barron said.
The officers immediately attempted to perform lifesaving first aid, the report states.
A few minutes later, Barron said, she saw Sanchez being carried on a stretcher to an ambulance. Barron cried out to Sanchez. Officers told Barron that Sanchez was speaking, and she held out hope that he might be all right.
Several hours later, when Barron was giving a statement at police headquarters, she learned Sanchez had died after being transported to University Hospital.
When she arrived home about 7:15 a.m., the floor was covered in blood, she said. She spent the
morning trying to clean it.
Sanchez, who had a lengthy criminal history, was out on bond for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. In that incident, onnov. 19, 2019, hewas accused of pointing a firearm at Barron and threatening her.
A Bexar County grand jury indicted Sanchez on June 1, and he was arrestedonaug. 21, according to court records.
A judge set his bond at $60,000. He released on bail six days lateronaug. 27 after paying a percentage of his bond through a bail bondsman, the records state.
Prior to that incident, Sanchez had been arrested about eight times since 1995 for a variety of charges, including possession of a controlled substance, aggravated robbery and assault bodily injury married.
Hewas convicted six times, the records state. Two charges were
dismissed.
Sanchez is the ninth person to be fatally shot by SAPD this year, according to police reports filed
with the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Two others have died while handcuffed in police custody.
The shooting Tuesday comes exactly a week after a detective shot and killed 55-year-old Darrell Zemault Sr. in his front yard. Three detectives and two patrol officers went to his house to execute a warrant.
According to police, Zemault wrestled with a detective and grabbed his gun that had fallen from its holster onto the ground. The department is conducting separate criminal and administrative investigations, as is customary after a police shooting.
The same procedures are being followed in Tuesday’s fatal shooting. All the officers involved were placed on administrative leave in the meantime.