Off-duty officer shoots man to death

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus San Antonio Police Chief William McManus Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Off-duty officer shoots man to death 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

An off-duty Castle Hills police officer fatally shot a man Wednesday afternoon after the man fired at San Antonio police, officials said.

Officer Roger Zuniga, a San Antonio Police Department spokesman, said police responded to a call for a disturbance with a gun about 1:30 p.m. in the 9400 block of Rue De Bois.

Police Chief William McManus said the man, whose name has not been released, had been firing a shotgun in the backyard of his mother's house. Neighbors called police after the man went inside, then reappeared in front of the house firing a rifle, officials said.

The man again went inside, then emerged wearing a holstered pistol, McManus said.

By that time, San Antonio SWAT units were setting up. The man fired two rounds at SWAT units and two SAPD officers returned fire, McManus said, wounding the gunman, who fell to the ground.

A Castle Hills officer who was visiting his brother near the location joined the officers and approached the wounded man, McManus said.

The fatal shot was fired by that officer after the man reached for his weapon and turned toward the officers, McManus said.

The officers' names have not been released.

McManus said the incident was the second time that police have responded to call involving the man.

About three weeks ago, the chief said, the man had claimed that he had a gun and intended to kill himself. Negotiators talked with him and determined that he was not a threat to himself or others.

He was not arrested, but police had been in contact with him day-to-day since that incident, McManus said.

“Today, he took a turn for the worse,” he said.

Castle Hills Police Chief Wayne Davis said the officer who fired the fatal shot has been with his department four months but was a longtime officer in Boerne before.

That officer and both SAPD officers who fired at the man will be placed on administrative duty.

Davis said Wednesday's incident is the department's first officer-involved shooting in nearly a decade.

The incident marks the third officer-involved shooting — two of which were fatal — in San Antonio since last week.

In the first incident, on Nov. 10, police shot Darryn Burgess, 40, after he knocked out one officer and caused another to be shot in the leg during a struggle for that officer's service weapon.

The second came Nov. 13, when Bill Jones, 53, charged officers while wielding three knives.

Police said Jones asked two officers responding to a family disturbance in the 6200 block of South New Braunfels Avenue if they were “ready to die.”

Jones died at the scene. Burgess was charged with attempted capital murder, taking a weapon from a police officer and assault on a public servant.

McManus said officers can't predict what will happen when they arrive at situations involving guns.

“Unfortunately, they sometimes have to use deadly force,” he said.

There have been 11 officer-involved shootings so far this year. Seven have been fatal.

mdwilson@express-news.net