San Antonio – A San Antonio woman had nothing but praise for an SAPD officer who shot and killed an armed man at a West side motel Sunday afternoon.
The shooting happened in the 5600 of Old Highway 90.
"He saved my life, he did," the woman, who wants to remain anonymous, said.
The woman believes the police officer who responded to the Selina Inn motel for a report of a car theft in progress is a hero.
She said she's certain the officer did the right thing when he shot the fleeing suspect who fired shots at the officer. "He had to, if not it could have been him and me," the woman said. "He had no other choice."
The woman said she was about to head out to wash her clothes when she found the suspect sitting inside her car trying to hot wire it.
"I said get out of the car, it's not your car," the woman said. "And he still didn't say nothing. Then I looked down in his lap, he had keys on one lap, a whole bunch of keys, and then on his other lap he had a gun."
The woman said she ran back to her room, locked the door and called 911.
She looked out of a window and saw the man driving off in her car.
"I see him trying to go over the curb, and the car's scraping," she said. "Then it hit the wall and that scared me."
As the suspect came around the corner his path was blocked by an SAPD cruiser that had just arrived.
The woman said the officer ordered the suspect out of the car several times but he wasn't listening.
"He was still trying to start the car, he wouldn't get out," she said.
When the man did get out he took off running and the officer chased after him.
"He was telling him to put his hands up and to stop and the guy wouldn't stop," she said. "He kept on running, trying to get away and the guy had a gun and he shot at the officer."
The shots missed the officer but the officer didn't miss the suspect when he returned fire. The suspect was hit several times and collapsed. He later died in surgery at University Hospital.
The woman said she has nothing but praise for the officer.
"He did a great job," the woman said. "I've never seen an officer run that quick, he did a good job."
The 27-year-old suspect still hasn't been identified. Investigators with the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office said they are still waiting to notify his relatives.
The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative duty while the shooting is investigated.