After responding to a “suicide in progress” call in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday night, at least seven police officers were shot after an hours-long armed standoff.
According to the San Antonio Police Department, the unidentified suspect, who is in his 40s, shot an officer who had first arrived at the apartment in the Stone Oak neighborhood of the city. He then went on to shoot six additional police while the property was barricaded.
According to officials, none of the seven cops’ injuries were life-threatening.
How the suspect died remains unknown. According to San Antonio’s NBC affiliate WOAI, police removed tenants from the apartment complex who could be safely relocated.
In a Facebook video, SAPD Chief William P. McManus stated: “The suspect barricaded himself inside the apartment for several hours after SWAT arrived on the scene. We don’t know whether the suspect was shot by squad police or if he self-inflicted the wound when he was discovered dead at the end of the incident.”
In an interview with WOAI, Joseph Loredo, a neighbor, reported hearing a loud pop while studying. He then went to his balcony, where he observed two or three helicopters and heard additional gunfire. He claimed to have witnessed one police officer receive a tourniquet after suffering a leg injury.
Then, he claimed, he witnessed the guy shooting at the officers.
According to McManus, the suspect was taken into custody on January 18 on two charges of assault and one count of driving under the influence.