BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – One day before shooting a man who was allegedly armed with two knives, Bexar County Sheriff’s deputies had conducted a welfare check on him at his home.
Danh Dinh, 38, sustained at least two gunshot wounds in the shooting last Tuesday.
An arrest affidavit states Dinh showed up at a neighbor’s home, bleeding from his arm, carrying two knives and tried to break in through a back door.
That neighbor then called 911, bringing deputies to the area.
“It startled us and then I went to go check the back door, and I see this man with a weapon in his hand. He had a knife,” the neighbor told KSAT 12 News. “I noticed just blood all over my patio, all over my kid’s toy and a sandpit.”
The neighbor said he did his best to secure his home and keep Dinh out, leaning against his door until deputies arrived.
When one sheriff’s deputy showed up approximately three minutes later, the neighbor said Dinh had already moved on to a different home.
In an affidavit, two deputies said they ordered Dinh to drop the weapons, described as two mini samurai sword-type knives, but he refused.
When he made a move toward them, documents show one deputy fired at him. In all, three BCSO deputies were on scene.
The affidavit states Dinh suffered gunshot wounds to his belly and backside. As of Tuesday morning, Dinh was transferred to the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.
The neighbor said the ordeal has left his family traumatized.
“When we hear any loud bang, when my 3-year-old hears any little noise, he (says), ‘What’s that noise?’ and he panics,” the neighbor said.
It’s trauma, he said, that could have been avoided.
Just one day prior to the shooting, Bexar County deputies were called to Dinh’s home for a welfare check.
A statement from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said deputies determined at that time that Dinh did not need to be emergency detained.
“In my opinion, a cry for help is a cry for help,” the neighbor said. “He would’ve never showed up at my backdoor. He would’ve never showed up across the street. That whole incident, I think, could’ve been avoided.”
Now, the neighbor said he and his family are struggling to forget it ever happened.
The deputy who shot Dinh was Steven Calva, a 16-year veteran with the sheriff’s office, a BCSO spokesperson told KSAT Tuesday morning.
Fellow deputies Jason Garces has 2 years of BCSO service while Frank Diaz has been with the sheriff’s office for 10 months, BCSO said.
All three deputies have since been placed on administrative leave.
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