SAN ANTONIO – Six days have passed, but one man said he can still hear what happened outside a hotel off U.S. Highway 90 and West Military Drive last Wednesday as if it were yesterday.
“I heard 17 to 20 shots, and that’s when I knew that’s it,” he said. “It was over.”
The man asked KSAT not to show his face or share his name for safety reasons. However, he said he was there when Odon Paul Bustos, 36, shot at officers, and then died after those officers fired back.
KSAT is sharing the man’s perspective because it gives us insight into what happened leading up to the shooting.
The shooting happened just after 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 15 outside a motel in the 6800 block of U.S. Highway 90 westbound near West Military Drive.
>> 2 SAPD officers shot on West Side identified, released from hospital
The witness, who spoke with KSAT on Tuesday, said he was staying at the motel that morning. He said he was sitting with his door open when he heard a woman yell at Bustos, then saw her start running.
“I was in my room minding my own damn business,” he said. “She dived into my room and I shut the door and locked it.”
He said he did that because Bustos had a weapon and was screaming.
WATCH BELOW: Witness details events before fatal shooting at San Antonio motel
“He goes, ‘I will kick in the doors, and I will break the windows,’” he said. “He goes, ”I will shoot in each room until I find her.”
KSAT asked if he had ever seen Bustos like that before. The man, who said he was a close friend, replied, “Never seen him like that before, no.”
The witness said Bustos and the woman had a past relationship. He said Bustos was angry the morning of the shooting and was looking for her.
“I told her, ‘If you don’t call 911 right now, one of us will not make it out of this room,’” he said.
“What was that call like?” KSAT asked.
“It was short and sweet,” he said. “Get the officers here so we can get help.”
The man said he hid with that woman in the bathroom for hours after the shots were fired. He said he didn’t want to risk either of their safety.
“Once she came into the room and I locked the door,” he said. “That door did not open back up until the cops knocked on it.”
The window of his truck was shot out in the crossfire, but he said it was the least of his worries.
“I went through every scenario while I was in that bathroom to figure out a way to de-escalate and talk him out of it,” he said. “But having the advantage of him not knowing which room we were in, I decided to stay in and not do it.”
Almost a week later, SAPD said its investigation is still active.
More coverage of this story on KSAT.com: