SAN ANTONIO – Soggy, muddy ground may have played a role in an accidental shooting Tuesday morning that left a man dead, according to San Antonio police.
Officers who responded to a call about an injured person around 6 a.m. found the man lying near a trash dumpster at the Stratton Place Apartments in the 12400 block of Starcrest Drive, not far from Jones Maltsberger Road
Police said he appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound to his chest.
On a grassy hill nearby, officers also found a couple of trash bags and a gun, which they believe belonged to him.
Investigators spoke to neighbors and family members at the complex and determined the shooting was accidental.
They told KSAT 12 News it appears the man was headed to the dumpster to throw away his trash when he slipped on the wet, muddy hill.
Police said he was carrying a gun at the time which fell and accidentally discharged.
The 58-year-old man, whose name has not been released, died at a hospital.
Although the roped-off crime scene attracted attention among neighbors, very few of them heard the gunshot.
Breanna Padilla said her mother did report hearing a shot coming from a different part of the apartment complex.
Padilla, herself, heard screams, coming from the wounded man.
“I saw him over here,” she said, pointing to the grassy area where the man fell. “He was yelling for help, so me and my brother, we came out. We were doing CPR on him.”
Padilla said she didn’t know what happened, but realized her neighbor was injured. Only later did she find out he had been shot.
“That’s when we just saw blood on his chest and he, just, like, wasn’t responding,” Padilla said.
Police determined that the shooting was the result of a freak accident.