Man shot by officers told them, ‘Go ahead and kill me,' police say

41-year-old wounded man suspected of stealing from convenience store

SAN ANTONIO – A man shot and wounded by a San Antonio police officer reportedly had told officers to kill him.

They first confronted him after 1 a.m. Thursday outside a 7-11 store at the corner of N. Zarzamora and Culebra Road.

Assistant Chief James Flavin says the officers were responding to a call about a shoplifter when they found the suspect in that case sitting behind the wheel of  a car in the parking lot.

Flavin says they tried to get him to come out of the car but he refused.

“(He) actually was very agitated and yelled, ‘Go ahead and kill me,’ numerous times to the officers,” Flavin said. "The officers ended up Tasing the driver unsuccessfully, and tried Tasing him twice.”

He said at some point, one of the officers noticed a gun in the man’s waistband so they all back away from his car.

The suspect then tried to drive away, causing one officer to feel they were in danger, Flavin said.

The officer then fired at least one shot, hitting the 41-year-old man.

The wounded man was rushed to a hospital by ambulance and underwent surgery.

Flavin said the officer who shot him has been with SAPD for about a year.

He will be placed on administrative duty during the investigation, which is standard practice.


About the Authors:

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.

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