SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The San Antonio Police Department released bodycam video showing a man aiming a gun at officers while fleeing on foot before an officer-involved shooting.
The incident happened on the afternoon of Dec. 3, 2024, when an officer approached the suspect for failing to use a designated crosswalk at an intersection. Bodycam video shows the suspect apologizing, but he refuses to comply with the officer’s instructions, drops a backpack and flees from the officer. The officer pursued the suspect on foot through a nearby parking garage where the suspect eluded the officer momentarily.
The pursuit resumed when another officer, tuned into the situation via radio, spotted the suspect and pursued him into a drainage ditch, body camera video shows. It was here that the tension escalated, the police department said in a critical incident briefing. Officers observed the suspect holding a gun as he continued to flee. Fearing for the collective safety, one officer discharged several shots as the suspect ran. As officers approached the suspect, the suspect raised his firearm, police said.
Despite commands to disarm, the suspect ignored the orders, leading an officer to fire additional rounds, striking the suspect in the chest, police said.
Despite efforts to save the suspect, life-saving measures were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The police department said it was later concluded that the suspect had inflicted a fatal gunshot wound to his own head while in the ditch.
The officer who fired his weapon, a four-year veteran of the department, was unharmed, police said. No bystanders or other officers were injured during the incident.
