SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE 2:40 p.m.:
A suspected car thief shot and killed at a West Side apartment complex on Tuesday has been identified.
Juan Castaneda, 37, was identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.
His cause of death was listed as a gunshot wound, according to the ME’s Office.
ORIGINAL:
A suspected car thief was shot and killed by a man heading off to work at an apartment complex on the city’s West Side early Tuesday morning, according to San Antonio police.
Officers were called just before 4 a.m. to the Oxford at Estonia apartments in the 8200 block of Micron Drive, not far from Culebra Road and Loop 410 after receiving word of shots fired.
According to police, a man in his 50s was on his way to work and had come out of his apartment when he found someone inside his vehicle attempting to steal it. That’s when, police say, the man pulled out a gun and fired, hitting the thief as he tried to drive off.
Police said the thief got out and ran to another part of the apartment complex, where he collapsed and died. The man killed, who appeared to be in his 40s, has not yet been identified.
SAPD said they are talking to the vehicle owner. It is unclear if any charges are expected to be filed.
The owner of the SUV was not hurt in the incident. He said it was the third time that someone had attempted to steal a vehicle. A neighbor said there have been multiple car break-ins and car thefts lately.
The investigation into the fatal shooting is ongoing, police said.