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Texas officer shoots self in chest, fakes shooting scene

By Michelle Mondo
The San Antonio Express-News
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LACKLAND CITY, Texas The shooting of a Northside Independent School District officer that initiated a late-night manhunt that included a police helicopter has been determined to be a hoax, according to Sgt. Gabe Trevino, spokesman for the San Antonio Police Department.

The officer, who originally told police he was attacked by two men at Lackland City Elementary School, is now saying he made up the story, Trevino said. After further investigation, Trevino said, it was determined that the wounds the officer sustained were self-inflicted.

Trevino did not have a reason for the officer’s conduct, but the incident is still under investigation and he did not know what charges, if any, would be filed.

Around 11 p.m. Tuesday, a call went out that an officer had been shot at Lackland City Elementary School at 101 DuMont.

At about midnight, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus reported that the officer said he was patrolling the grounds of the elementary school when he saw what looked like freshly painted graffiti on one of the portable buildings.

When he began to look for a culprit, the officer said he encountered two men who might have been in their 30s. The officer then approached the men to ask questions, McManus said.

According to McManus, the officer said the men began to fight with him. At some point the officer had drawn his gun, and during the struggle, McManus said, the officer was shot twice in the chest.

The officer had been wearing a bullet-resistant vest, McManus said, and it did not appear that he suffered life-threatening injuries.

Copyright 2007 The San Antonio Express