SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police have tracked down a man who they say was armed with a shotgun and was having mental problems.
But they say it wasn’t easy.
They had to negotiate through darkness and thick brush along the Leon Creek Greenway to reach him early Wednesday.
Police said the incident began with a call from the man’s mother around 4 a.m.
She told officers she was concerned because her son seemed to be experiencing delusions and had not eaten in several days.
As officers approached their home, located in the 7000 block of Marshall Pass, they heard what sounded like gunfire.
They say they also found out the man had left the home armed with a shotgun and climbed over the back fence.
Officers set up a perimeter in the neighborhood while also searching for him.
At some point, they reached the man by phone and found out he was on the Leon Creek Greenway not far from Bandera Road.
Police spent about a half hour on the phone with him, working to convince him to put down his weapon. They used his cell phone flashlight so that he was visible to their helicopter, police said.
Officers then walked down a dirt trail in the dark and located the man.
He was taken into custody, but is not expected to face any criminal charges.
Instead police say the man, who is a military veteran, will undergo a mental evaluation.