SAN ANTONIO – A wild gun battle at a far West Side apartment complex had neighbors ducking and running for cover as bullets tore into their homes.
The shooting at the Timber Creek Apartments originally began around 2 a.m. Tuesday, according to Chief William McManus with the San Antonio Police Department.
McManus said officers were answering a call about someone firing a long gun at the complex, located in the 6900 block of Timbercreek Drive, when they found themselves under attack.
“Officers arrived. Their vehicle was struck by gunfire from this individual. They retreated, called SWAT,” he said.
Even after the SWAT team arrived, McManus said, the gunfire continued, with the suspect engaging in a gun battle with those officers.
Eventually, one SWAT team member shot the 43-year-old suspect, grazing him on his head. The man was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Hours after the violence ended, there were still signs of it everywhere.
A fence surrounding the patio of the suspect’s apartment was riddled with bullet holes.
McManus said at one point, the man was firing through that fence at SWAT officers.
There were also bullet holes in a wrought-iron fence and in a private home across the street.
Several bullets also went into the apartments of the suspect’s neighbors, McManus said.
“We just hit the ground quick, and we stayed (on) the ground,” said Joel Garcia, who lives next door to the suspect. “We stayed in the safest place, toward the restroom.”
Garcia said one stray bullet hit a wall in his apartment.
Police say, luckily, no one was hurt by the wild gunfire.
Still, the noise of the commotion stayed with Garcia, at least throughout the early part of the day.
“Just hearing gunshots, non-stop,” Garcia said. “It would stop and then I’d hear him yelling, and then he would shoot again.”
Police are not sure what set off the man, causing him to shoot.
However, McManus said that suspect will undergo a mental evaluation.