SAN ANTONIO – A 34-year-old man who police said displayed a weapon barricaded himself inside a car dealership body shop warehouse on the city’s Northwest Side for three hours Monday before he was taken into custody.
Police said the ordeal began when officers conducted a traffic stop near the Red McCombs Hyundai Body Shop in the 4800 block of NW Loop 410. When officers approached the vehicle, the man ran into the warehouse behind the dealership, showed a gun and refused to leave a room.
SWAT, mental health and hostage teams with the San Antonio Police Department negotiated with the man. Several family members showed up to help, and at one point a woman fainted at the scene.
The driver of the car, Jose Moya, told KSAT 12 News photojournalist Luis Cienfuegos that he was putting gas when the suspect approached him for a ride.
“You know, he needed some money for a bus. And I sort of, like, I felt bad. I’ve been in that situation. So I asked him, like, ‘Where are you headed?’ He told me he was headed, like, somewhere toward where I was going to pass by there anyways,” Moya said. Moments later, Moya was stopped by police, and that’s when the suspect made a run for it.
Moya cooperated with police and will not face charges. It’s unclear what charges the suspect will face.
Employees at the car dealership were forced to evacuate for their safety.