SAN ANTONIO – A mother who was loading her three children up for school was fatally shot in her vehicle Monday morning on the Northeast Side, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
The woman, 28, was killed in front of her children, ages 2, 6 and 10, just after 7 a.m. outside the M.C. Beldon Apartments in the 7500 block of Harlow Drive.
The suspected shooter, 30, was found at a home nearby, McManus said. He is in custody and is being questioned by police.
“What we have here this morning is an absolute tragedy,” he said in a news conference.
The male suspect and victim have not been identified, but McManus said investigators are “relatively certain” that the man was the woman’s estranged husband.
McManus said the accused shooter was “arrested, re-arrested on multiple occasions” starting in October 2018, and that he violated a protective order.
The chief condemned the policies in place that left the alleged shooter out on bond and the woman unprotected.
“He is out on bond right now for violation of that protective order, and look what happened, here we are this morning,” he said.
McManus did not immediately explain which process, policy or department his “outrage” is aimed at. He said SAPD followed the protocols for dealing with this specific suspect in this family violence case.
“My question is: how do we make victims feel secure coming for help after this?”
The children are now in the care of a relative.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Read also: