Suspect, SAPD officers involved in fatal shootout Thursday ID'd

Shooter fires handgun randomly for blocks near Southcross Blvd., SAPD says

SAN ANTONIOUPDATE (5:41 p.m., Friday): 

The man who was shot and killed by police Thursday was identified as Samuel Garcia, 39.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office said the cause of death was homicide by gunshot.

UPDATE (2:10 p.m., Friday): The officers involved in Thursday morning's fatal shootout have been identified as Detective Nicholas Valera and Officer Miguel Saucedo, both 21-year veterans.

UPDATE (4:15 p.m., Thursday):

The man who was wounded Thursday morning in a shootout with San Antonio police and was described as an "active shooter" has died.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed it received the body of a 39-year-old man from the shooting scene, which happened in the 1400 block of South Pleasanton Road.

ORIGINAL STORY:

A man in his 30s was shot Thursday morning by police after he fired a handgun multiple times, including shooting at a bicyclist in the area of a bus, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said.

"What you had out here, and I don't use the term lightly, was an active shooter in an open venue," McManus said.

The shooting is the second officer-involved shooting in as many days.

The latest incident happened around 8:30 a.m. Thursday in the 1400 block of South Pleasanton Road.

McManus said the suspect had begun firing a handgun just south of East Southcross when he shot at a man on a bicycle near the bus.

The bicyclist looped behind the bus for cover, attempting to avoid as many as eight shots, McManus said. There were three people on board the bus at the time of the shooting, but no one was hurt.

McManus said officers were already in close proximity and responded to the shooting within minutes. 

As one officer pulled his vehicle over, he experienced a flat tire, which was likely the result of gunfire, McManus said. 

Gunfire was then exchanged by the suspect and the officers, with the suspect being hit at least once in the upper torso, McManus said. 

"It was important that he was stopped quickly because of the potential of somebody else to be shot. And the officers displayed a lot of courage by closing the distance on him to try to bring this to an end," McManus said.

The unidentified man was taken to a hospital for his injuries. 

McManus said a motive for the shooting remains unclear. 

One officer had glass in his eye as a result of the incident and was treated by EMS crews.

The Guardian Angel Child Development Center, in the corner of Pleasanton and Gerald, went on lockdown after teachers heard the gunshots and notified parents about the incident.

A woman was dropping her grandson off at the day care center during the gunfire. They darted out of danger.

"It shook up my grandson because they were shooting when we were out here," she said.

A man said he was in his car when gunshots rang out around him.

"I wasn't really in the line of fire but I was close," he said.

Officer involved shooting. Pleasanton Road.

Posted by KSAT Katrina Webber on Thursday, January 3, 2019

About the Authors

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.

Ben Spicer is a digital journalist who works the early morning shift for KSAT.

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