SAN ANTONIO – With more than three months left in 2020, more people have been shot and killed in Bexar County by law enforcement officers than 2019, according to state records and analysis by KSAT.
As of Wednesday, Bexar County has recorded 19 instances of a peace officer shooting a civilian in 2020, 11 of which were fatal. In 16 of those instances, the person who was shot was armed with some type of weapon, according to data provided by the Texas Justice Initiative and the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
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Last year, 18 people were shot in Bexar County by peace officers. Ten of those shootings were fatal, records showed.
So far in 2020, two San Antonio Police Department officers have been shot by civilians. Both are expected to recover from their injuries.
Since 2016, a total of 90 people have been shot by members of law enforcement agencies in Bexar County. Of those, 49 died.
A total of 15 peace officers have been shot by civilians in Bexar County since 2016; two of those were fatal.
Of the 11 fatal shootings by officers in 2020, nine involved SAPD officers while BCSO deputies fired the shots in the other two incidents.
The Texas Justice Initiative maintains data on police shootings reported to the state attorney general by law enforcement agencies. The departments have been required by the state to report the incidents since 2015. Departments have to report the incident within 30 days of when the shooting occurred.
At least four police shootings in Bexar County are not reflected in those records because they occurred within the last 30 days. Three by San Antonio police and one by Balcones Heights police, have been added to this analysis using KSAT news archives.
The most recent shooting was reported Tuesday night, when SAPD officers were called to investigate a burglary at the Westway Apartments. Police say 44-year-old Victor Sanchez pointed a gun at the officers, causing them to shoot him.