SAN ANTONIO – A man was shot by a Balcones Heights police officer Thursday morning after he displayed what they believed was a gun.
Balcones Heights Police Chief John Jahanara said at the scene that the man was shot in the leg after he appeared to reach for a makeshift piece of pipe that appeared to officers to resemble a gun.
Officers first made contact with the man around 7:15 a.m. Thursday after residents at the Spanish Keys Apartments, in the 1100 block of Babcock Road, reported seeing him making threats and waving a weapon, which they also believed to be a gun.
When two officers arrived, the man wedged himself in between two vehicles in an effort to avoid police, Jahanara said.
The chief said the man did not display his hands to police when prompted.
The two officers fired about five rounds when the man “made a sudden movement to grab a weapon,” Jahanara said.
One bullet struck the man in his right knee. He was transported to a hospital and is in stable condition.
Jahanara said the man, who did not have a gun on him, is refusing to identify himself.
One Balcones Heights police officer involved in the shooting is a veteran of about 18 years, and the other has been on the force for about nine years, Jahanara said.
Jahanara said the department will review body camera footage.
This is a developing story and it will be updated as more information.