SAN ANTONIO – A man accused of shooting at his family and KSAT journalists was fatally shot by San Antonio police Monday after a standoff that lasted several hours.
Two KSAT journalists reporting at the scene of a house fire said the man, believed to be in his 20s, was digging through rubble with a large stick when they arrived. The man is believed to be part of the family who lives at the burned home, located in the 200 block of Noria Street.
KSAT reporter Dillon Collier and photographer Joshua Saunders were interviewing other members of the family near the house.
About 20 minutes after KSAT crews arrived on the scene, the man who had been digging through rubble emerged from the home with two handguns and began to shoot at Collier, Saunders and the family members. He fired several bullets at the journalists, who ran on foot, and the family, who took off in an SUV.
The man then took off on a bicycle and made his way into a home down the street, where he barricaded himself inside another home.
“There were a number of people in that house,” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said Monday following the standoff. “Apparently he know some folks who were in there. Those individuals, we were able to get them out.”
At one point, the suspect left the home and entered an air conditioned shed in the backyard, McManus said.
“The officers decided to try and lock him out of the house at that point,” McManus said.
The suspect allegedly saw the officers through the screen door of the house and shot at them. Five officers returned fire, killing the shooter, McManus said.
McManus said the suspect was in “close range” of the officers when gunfire was exchanged.
The officers had between five and 18 years of experience on the force.
Here’s the suspect accused of firing a handgun at our news crew and his own family around 11 a.m. Fired at a red SUV while holding two handguns. Then fired more as all of us scattered. He’s now barricaded in a home a block away. Stand-off about to enter its fourth hour #KSATnews pic.twitter.com/8bSuEL4LJt
— Dillon Collier (@dilloncollier) July 5, 2021
Arson investigators were involved at the scene because it was suspected someone fired bullets inside the home around the time it caught fire. Bullet casings could be seen in the area.
Before the shooting, a family member told KSAT that the home had been in the family for several generations.
The fire was called in around 1:30 a.m. Monday in the 200 block of Noria Street, not far from Brady Boulevard and Frio City Road on the West Side.
Firefighters said when they arrived, they found heavy flames showing the front of the house. Firefighters also had to deal with heavy smoke inside the home, fire officials said. The fire was put out quickly and without incident. Nobody was home at the time of the fire, firefighters said. Damage to the home is estimated at $60,000.
Neighbors questioned why police hadn’t arrested the man after the suspected arson occurred. McManus explained that police did not have a warrant and “no probable cause to make an arrest at that time.”
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