Deputy's birthday party shooting called 'accidental'

26-year-old detention officer was shot in hand

SAN ANTONIO – The Bexar County Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting of an off-duty deputy in his home. However, the incident, initially, is being called "accidental."

The deputy, who works as a detention officer at the Bexar County jail, was celebrating his 26th birthday when he was shot, according to sheriff's investigators at the scene.

San Antonio police officers responded to the 911 call around 4 a.m. Monday, but they soon turned the case over to investigators with the sheriff's office.

"Once they realized that it was involving a Bexar County detention officer, they contacted our supervision," said Sgt. Louis Antu, spokesman for the sheriff's office. "It appears to be an accidental shooting but we're going to look into it and investigate."

Antu said the deputy was in a bedroom of the home in the 2300 block of Marilyn Kay Street when he was shot in the hand with a shotgun, nearly severing his index finger.

The shooting happened during the deputy's birthday party, and there were several people in the home at the time, including other off-duty detention officers, deputies and dispatchers, Antu said.

Because some of the party guests had been drinking alcohol, detectives, at first, had difficulty in getting information.

"When you have folks that are intoxicated, sometimes things transpire," Antu said. "Normally we'll wait until they sober up a little bit, but we'll find out."

Crime scene investigators took pictures of more than a half-dozen party guests, then detectives took them into custody for questioning.

One of the things they're trying to figure out, Antu said, is who fired the shot. An investigator at the scene said witnesses indicated there may have been someone else in the bedroom with the deputy when he was shot.

Witnesses also said the deputy had some sort of disagreement with his girlfriend prior to the shooting, but it appears the woman already had left the scene when he was wound, an investigator said.

The wounded deputy was taken by ambulance to University Hospital and underwent surgery.

Internal Affairs was called in to investigate the shooting.

San Antonio Police Department records show at least two other calls at the home.

Police officers investigated a burglary at the deputy's home in late July. In January, someone at that address suffered a drug overdose, police said.

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About the Author:

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.