Active-duty airman kills self in Target parking lot after suicide notes found on his porch

Sheriff's investigators go over the scene of an apparent suicide behind the Target store at 1604 and Culebra on June 24, 2016. Sheriff's investigators go over the scene of an apparent suicide behind the Target store at 1604 and Culebra on June 24, 2016. Photo: SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Photo: SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Image 1 of / 41 Caption Close Active-duty airman kills self in Target parking lot after suicide notes found on his porch 1 / 41 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — An active-duty airman committed suicide Friday in the parking lot of a Target store on the far West Side.

The man, who is in his late 30s but has not been identified, shot himself around noon in a car behind the store near Loop 1604 and Culebra Road as deputies responding to reports of a suicidal person urged him to drop the gun, police said.

The man did not show up to work at Port San Antonio Friday morning, but notified his colleagues that he "left a package with letters in it on his front porch," Bexar County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Rosanne Hughes said in a statement.

No one was at the man's home in the 1400 block of Prairie Grass, but the colleagues found the package — which contained suicide notes — and alerted police, she said.

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A BCSO dispatcher obtained the man's cellphone number and was able to track his location.

Deputies found the man locked inside his blue Mitsubishi Lancer sedan behind the Target with a gun.

As deputies tried to convince the man to get out, he put the gun to his chin and fired, Hughes said.

Hughes said the man had some items in the car he wanted given to family members. She declined to provide details on the items.

Hughes said there is no indication the man was planning a large-scale attack at the military base, despite a report from KENS, which does not include a byline, citing unnamed sources who said the man was "en route" to the military base to "commit a shooting." Hughes called the report "erroneous."

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Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland spokesman Oscar Balladares initially told the San Antonio Express-News that Air Force Security Forces swept the building after the gunman threatened someone who works there. He later revised the Air Force’s explanation for what had happened, describing the lockdown as a “precautionary measure” taken in absence of any threat.

“There was never any indication of any workplace violence, and there was never a threat made against the building unit or the people there. This was a very tragic suicide," said Balladares, adding that BCSO is handling the investigation.

Hughes said the man never made a threat to anyone at the base.

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Balladares said he did not know which building was locked down, but said it was not 171, which is home to a large number of Air Force personnel.

The man's home is about seven miles from the Target, which is more than 12 miles from Port San Antonio.

Port San Antonio is a building complex that once was home to Kelly AFB, an Air Force depot on the city’s South Side. It is adjacent to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where a murder-suicide two months ago claimed the life of Lt. Col. William "Bill" Schroeder, a squadron commander.

According to previous San Antonio Express-News reporting, 4,839 current and former members of the U.S. military committed suicide from 2003 through 2015. That number surpasses the total number of Americans who died while serving in Iraq, which is 4,496.

Members of the military who are experiencing a crisis can call a 24-hour hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

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