HELOTES, Texas – A man and woman were killed in an apparent murder-suicide at a Helotes church Wednesday afternoon.
Police said the shooting occurred just after 3 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church off Riggs Road and Highway 16.
Lt. Elliot Rodriguez with the Helotes Police Department said officers received a call for shots fired at the church and when they responded, they found the front door locked and they could see two bodies inside.
"Officers entered the building and saw two individuals who were deceased, one male, one female," Rodriguez said. "They've both been identified but their family hasn't been contacted yet."
Rodriguez said the victims are in their mid-40s to early 50s. Rodriguez said a pistol was found between the two bodies, which were near the church altar.
Both the man and the woman are believed to be from San Antonio and were parishioners at the church, police said. Information about their relationship has not been released. No other people were inside the church at the time.
Northside Independent School District Pascual Gonzalez said Helotes Elementary, located down the street from the church, was placed on lockdown around 3:10 p.m. at the direction of Helotes police.
Gonzalez said students had already left school for the day. He said there were a few teachers and students who participate in the after school program who were still on campus, but there was no threat to the campus and as of 5 p.m. the lockdown had been lifted.
Church officials said Mass would be held as scheduled at 8 a.m. Thursday. The only other murder ever recorded in Helotes was back in 1994, police said. That was a murder-suicide as well.