A 6-year-old boy was shot dead in a mobile home in Texas four days before Christmas after sheriff’s deputies opened fire on a suspect outside, the authorities said.

“In my opinion, it’s a tragic accident that led to the death of this young man,” Sheriff Javier Salazar of Bexar County said at a news conference on Friday, referring to Kameron Prescott.

The shooting occurred on Thursday in Schertz, Tex., a small city near San Antonio. Sheriff Salazar said a deputy was responding to a call about a stolen vehicle when he found the suspect, a woman who was wanted on two felony warrants.

He said the woman appeared to be armed and threatened to shoot the deputy before she fled. Hours later, she made her way to the mobile home park.