An armed man who challenged security guards is now in the hospital after the guards shot him three times.

It happened on Sunday evening on Martin street, right off of North St. Mary's Street.

Police said the man, armed with a knife, walked into the middle of the street in front of the Greyhound bus station downtown and stopped a driver.

"He stepped off right in front of my vehicle," said Sandra Ojeda Medina. "I honked. He was in the middle of my vehicle. He looked straight at me, reached into his pocket and pulled something out. I thought he was going to key my car. Instead, he slashed my tire."

Security guards at the Greyhound station saw the altercation and started to pursue the man, who was armed with a 4-inch knife.

"They chased him in the parking lot," said Lt. Kevin Luzius with the San Antonio Police Department. "He ran. He was armed with a knife. They ordered him to drop the knife. He didn't comply with their orders and he came at the security guard and he shot him three times."

The man with the knife was shot in the torso and was taken to SAMMC in serious condition.

Police said, for now, they are treating the shooting as an act of self defense, but that the case is still under investigation.

However, Medina said she was just glad they were there to help.

"The security from the depot were very quick to respond to do this man's actions, which I applaud," she said.

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