A man shot and killed a woman in her backyard before he returned to his home and turned the gun on himself, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.
The incident began around 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the 41-year-old woman’s home on Capstone Ridge.
“My niece called me and said there was a commotion at the house and I need to see what was going on. I drove over to the house,” brother of the victim, Darryl Johnson, said.
When deputies arrived, they went inside and found the woman in the backyard, deceased from a gunshot wound to her head, Salazar said.
Investigators were able to track down a possible suspect, a 42-year-old man who took off from the scene before authorities arrived.
According to family members, the man had previously been in a relationship with the victim but have been separated for some time and were no longer romantically involved.
The sheriff’s office acquired surveillance video from neighbors and could hear several of the gunshots on video, according to Salazar. They also got a vehicle description.
Deputies were soon able to find the suspect’s vehicle, parked at a home in the 4800 block of the Knollcreek subdivision, off of Knollcreek Drive and Classen Road.
Law enforcement agencies swarmed the area, including SWAT, and negotiators tried to communicate with the suspect. However, their attempts were unsuccessful.
After attempting for two hours to communicate through loudspeakers with the suspect, Salazar said they sent the SWAT robot, equipped with a camera, inside of the home through the garage entrance.
When the robot made its way inside, deputies saw through the camera that the man was deceased in the living room from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Salazar said.
Law enforcement will remain at the scene for “quite some time” and deputies are working to obtain a search warrant for the inside of the home.
Salazar said it appears to be a domestic violence-related murder. The couple was living separately and their names have not been released.
“We love her. She’ll be missed. Anybody else in a relationship that’s abusive or scared to speak out...the best thing to do is tell somebody,” cousin of the 41-year-old victim, Theo Johnson said.
The sheriff said it was “a pretty heartbreaking scene.”
Residents in the area can still expect traffic delays as officers continue to canvass the neighborhood.
Further details are limited and we’ll bring more updates as they become available.