NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – New Braunfels police say a man who they said shot his wife to death then left three children in the back of an SUV was himself shot and killed Monday afternoon.
Police say Jerry Hermes Jr., 35, shot Lisa Hermes, 32, multiple times around 8:20 p.m. on Oct. 12 as she sat in the driver's seat of a white 2007 Chevrolet Suburban.
The three children are between the ages of 5 and 10. They were found to be unharmed and were taken to a safe location by responding officers, a New Braunfels police spokesman said. The identities of the children are not being released.
Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force found Jerry Hermes hiding in a barn in the 2600 block of Wosnig Lane in Guadalupe County around 2:45 p.m. Monday.
A New Braunfels police spokesman said in a statement that Hermes "engaged (members of the task force) with a handgun," before a U.S. deputy marshal shot and killed him.
"The task force officers identified themselves, ordered him to surrender, saw that he has a handgun on his hand, ordered him to drop it. He would not drop it," said Robert Almonte, U.S. marshal for the western district of Texas.
Almonte said Hermes was holding the gun in an threatening manner, giving authorities no choice but to fire.
"One of our task force officers, or deputy U.S marshals I should say, fired in self defense and killed the subject," he said.
The deputy marshal that shot Hermes has been placed on administrative duty.
"The last thing that any law enforcement officer wants to do is take somebody's life, but unfortunately sometimes you don't have a choice," Almonte said.
The Texas Rangers are helping with the investigation of the officer-involved shooting while New Braunfels police continue to investigate the shooting of Lisa Hermes.