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Police use words to resolve tense situation involving man firing gun

Suspect undergoing mental evaluation, police say

SAN ANTONIO – Words were the weapon of choice for San Antonio police officers who faced a man who was firing a gun in a Northwest Side neighborhood early Monday morning.

They say they were able to bring a peaceful ending to the tense situation, convincing the man to put down his weapon and come out of his home.

RELATED: Tense situation involving gunshots on NW Side leads to man’s arrest

Officers received the call about shots fired in the area of Silvertip Drive and White Tail Drive around 5:30 a.m.

Daylight exposed the damage that was caused by the gunfire. Bullets hit a fence and pool across the street from the suspect's home. (KSAT 12 News)

At first, though, they had no idea where the shots were coming from or who might be firing them.

“(We) called for EAGLE to assist us overhead to see if they could see anyone shooting at us from the front or the back yard or anything,” said Sgt. Steven Ozuna with SAPD. “We couldn’t see anything at the time.”

Eventually, officers realized the gunshots were coming from a home in the 5200 block of Silvertip.

Ozuna said a man was holed up in his bedroom, firing through the glass window toward the street.

However, officers already had called for backup, just in case.

“Rifles and shields for our protection when we approached,” Ozzuna said. “We didn’t know what the situation was going to resolve to, how it would end.”

With the help of dispatchers, officers were able to talk the man into surrendering.

Ozuna said he appeared to be in the middle of a mental health crisis and was taken in for evaluation.

“He believed he was being attacked so he was shooting in self-defense,” he said.

Some of the gunfire found targets in the fence and pool of a home across the street.

Police say a bullet fired on Silvertip Drive tore through this car parked about a half block away from that home. (KSAT 12 News)

At least one bullet traveled a half block away and tore a hole, through and through, in a parked car.

Fortunately, no people were hurt, just surprised and shaken by the news.


About the Authors
Katrina Webber headshot

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.

Azian Bermea headshot

Azian Bermea is a photojournalist at KSAT.

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