Ten San Antonio police officers opened fire on a man Friday night after he allegedly racked a shotgun and pointed it at them in a bar parking lot.
SAN ANTONIO — Ten San Antonio police officers opened fire on a man Friday night after he allegedly racked a shotgun and pointed it at them in a bar parking lot near downtown.
According to San Antonio police, officers initially responded to a call for a man armed with a gun at a convenience store in the 500 block of Ruiz Street. They located the suspect nearby at The Kozy Korner bar.
"Several officers responded. The suspect is a male in his 30s. He had a duffel bag, which officers had could see or could tell that there was a long gun inside of the duffel bag," explained San Antonio Police Chief Jesse Salame.
When the suspect maneuvered between vehicles and ignored commands to surrender, officers fired less-lethal beanbag rounds.
"At one point, officers used less than lethal beanbag rounds to try to get the suspect to comply with their orders to put the bag down," said Chief Salame. "They gave him several commands to come out and surrender."
The man then emerged, racked a loaded shotgun, and pointed it at the officers, prompting 10 officers to fire and strike him multiple times.
"I don't know how many shots were fired. Where the suspect went down, we did recover a shotgun next to the suspect," said Salame.
Police recovered the weapon next to the suspect. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and immediately underwent surgery.
"The suspect is was taken to the hospital, and at last checked, he is in the operating room. He is in critical condition. This is a very ongoing, fluid investigation, and the homicide unit, along with the internal affairs unit, are going to be investigating this," said Salame. "We've had several witnesses that are being taken downtown right now. Already been transported to downtown to give their statements on what they saw, what they heard, and what they what they understand happened. Started at the convenience store. That's where the call came in. Officers were able to track him down here, and the shooting happened in the parking lot of the bar."
