SAN ANTONIO – The father of a Bexar County sheriff's deputy who shot at three car burglars said his son is "OK" and "nervous" after the gunfire outside their Northwest side home.
He identified the deputy as Michael Armiz.
Pedro Armiz said he woke up to the sound of gunshots in the 1400 block of W. Summit Avenue shortly after 5 a.m. Monday. He said he went outside his home and found out that his son has fired those shots.
"I didn't know what to think," he said. "We came out to see what was wrong. Michael was out here with no shoes (and) no shirt, just his pants."
San Antonio police officers originally responded to the call for shots fired. But once they learned it involved a deputy, they quickly allowed the Bexar County Sheriff's Office to take the lead on the investigation.
Lt. Dennis Casillas, with the sheriff's office, said Michael Armiz is a 17-year veteran who currently works as a detention officer at the Bexar County jail.
Casillas said the deputy was getting ready for work when he happened to look out his front window and notice two men standing near his car. The third, he later learned, was behind the wheel of their getaway car, Casillas said.
"It's unknown if they had come at him or in his direction, but some shots were fired. We had three shots fired out here, " Casillas said. "His property is scattered outside the vehicle so he was trying to prevent the consequences of burglary."
Casillas said it's unknown if the shots Armiz fired actually hit anyone. However, based on broken glass at the scene, Casillas said it appears the bullets did hit the window of the getaway car, believed to be a red Ford Explorer.
It appears the criminals broke into the deputy's car by prying open the door, he said.
Casillas said Armiz has been the victim of this time of crime before and "went ahead and did what he thought he had to do" by shooting the burglars.
San Antonio police figures show only one other report of a car burglary in the 1400 block of W. Summit Avenue during the past year. That crime was reported Oct. 27, 2011, according to Sandy Gutierrez, a spokeswoman for SAPD.
Gutierrez said the data shows the call came from the 1400 block but it does not list a specific address.
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