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Girlfriend of man shot by San Antonio police officers: ‘They were protecting themselves’

Man, 19, allegedly pointed gun at police

SAN ANTONIO – A woman who made the call to San Antonio police that led to an officer shooting that wounded a man early Friday morning says she doesn’t exactly blame them.

The woman, who wanted to conceal her identity, says she shares a child with the 19-year-old man who was shot.

RELATED: Officers responding to domestic violence call shoot man at West Side apartment complex, SAPD Chief McManus says

She says she placed the 911 call around 2 a.m. after the man pistol-whipped her with a gun.

A preliminary police report says officers arrived at the apartment complex, located in the 3100 block of Culebra Road, and heard a man yelling inside the home.

It says the officer then pushed open the door and ordered the man to show his hands.

“The suspect turned toward the officers with a pistol pointed at the officers. The officers fired twice. The suspect was struck,” said Chief William McManus, who spoke with news crews shortly after the shooting.

McManus stressed that the investigation was continuing and that the information he was releasing was preliminary.

He said at that time that he had not yet reviewed the officer’s body camera.

The man who was shot was rushed to a hospital for treatment of a life-threatening wound.

As of late Friday morning, police had not yet released his name.

The woman who witnessed the shooting later spoke to reporters and agreed with the account given by police.

“The police came in and said, ‘Show me your hands. Show me your hands,’” she said. “I knew what he was going to do. He was going to point the gun at them, so I just stand (sic) back and let it happen.”

She says she and her baby took shelter in a bathroom just before the shooting started.

“I let them know there were no bullets in the gun,” the woman said. “There were none at all. But I don’t blame them. They were protecting themselves.”

Although she doesn’t blame the officer for shooting her child’s father, she does not believe he had any intention of harming police.

In the last update from police, the wounded man had undergone surgery and was in critical condition at a hospital.


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.

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