San Antonio police ID officer who was shot in hand during deadly West Side shooting

SAN ANTONIO – Update:

San Antonio police have released the identity of an officer who was shot in the hand during a traffic stop that resulted in the death of two people on the city’s West Side.

Officer Sauvage, a five-year veteran, conducted a traffic stop on a blue pickup truck around 11:27 a.m., Friday, in the 2300 block of Pinn Road, according to the San Antonio Police Department.

Police said the vehicle came to a stop and Officer Sauvage made contact with the occupants. When the officer opened the driver’s door, the front seat passenger fired a handgun, according to police.

The officer was struck on his hand but he was able to return fire, fatally striking both of the vehicle occupants.

Officer Sauvage was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver and the front seat passenger of the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene. A third passenger, a woman, was shot in the torso and taken to the hospital, according to officials.

The Medical Examiner has not yet released the identities of the two fatalities as of yet.

Investigations of the incident are still underway by the SAPD Shooting Team and Internal Affairs. Officer Sauvage will be placed on administrative duty, according to authorities.

Original:

A San Antonio police officer who was shot in the hand during a traffic stop on the city’s West Side Friday morning exchanged gunfire with the suspects, leading to the death of two people, according to Police Chief William McManus.

McManus, who stressed that the information he was giving was preliminary, said he had a chance to review the officer’s body camera without audio.

The officer, a five-year veteran with the department, conducted a traffic stop on a pickup occupied by three people in the 2300 block of Pinn Road.

McManus said the officer appeared to have a “casual conversation” with the driver for a few minutes until the driver pulled a gun and fired at the officer, striking him once in the hand and once on his radio.

The officer opened fire as he retreated backward, McManus said, striking and killing the driver and the passenger, both men believed to be in their 20s.

The third passenger, a woman, was shot in the torso and taken to the hospital, McManus said.

“The surprising thing to me was the conversation at the door...very casual,” the chief reiterated.

It’s the second time in two days that a San Antonio officer has exchanged gunfire with an armed suspect.

On Thursday, a park police officer shot a man who opened fire first right outside of the San Antonio International Airport. The gunman then died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said on Friday.

The suspect in that case was also believed to be responsible for a shooting earlier that day from a flyover overpass at Highway 281 and Loop 1604.