SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Police Department on Thursday released the names of an officer and a man he fatally wounded.
According to SAPD, Officer John Carroll was patrolling the area in the 2500 block of South General McMullen Drive around 1 a.m. Monday when he saw a man showing a woman a handgun on his front waistband.
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Carroll then got out of his patrol vehicle and called out to the man, but he took off running through the grounds of the Winston Square Apartments, SAPD said.
The officer ran after the man and tried to deploy his Taser on him but was unsuccessful, SAPD said.
The suspect, identified as Ruben Garcia, 34, fell to the ground. A brief struggle ensued over Garcia’s handgun when Carroll stepped back and fired several rounds at the suspect. Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses told KSAT 12 News that they saw Garcia on the ground with his arms behind him when he was shot in the back. Police Chief William McManus at the scene stressed all the information provided was preliminary and could potentially change after viewing Carroll’s bodycam footage.
McManus said that Garcia had a lengthy criminal history.
Carroll, who was not hurt, has been with SAPD for four years. He was placed on administrative leave while the department conducts criminal and administrative investigations.
The incident was the second deadly shooting by a police officer in less than a week.