Dimitrius Cirilo was just leaving his apartment at a North Side complex when he saw the police tape sectioning off a group of living areas facing the street.

He recalled contacting police a few times because a couple who lived on the second floor often came out of their home arguing loudly, but he didn’t think it would end the way it did Friday night.

San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus said the man shot his girlfriend before turning the gun on himself in their home at about 4 p.m. on Friday in the Nest apartments, 8607 Jones Maltsberger Road.

“That is a shocker. I did not see that coming,” Cirilo said. “They mostly argued. I never thought that this would actually happen.”

Investigators said the couple appeared to be in their late 20s or early 30s. The two were found dead in the back of the apartment, police said.

Their bodies each had a gunshot wound to the head, investigators said.

As detectives continued combing the apartment, a man and woman sat side by side near the apartment breezeway a few feet away from the police tape. They were fighting back tears, contacting others by phone to inform them of what occurred.

Cirilo said many of the newer residents are quiet and often keep to themselves. Those who had been there before he moved in a little over a year ago had often been at the center of the disturbances.

“There would be some couples screaming ‘Oh I’ll go get my gun,’” Cirilo recalled.

He noted that no one had been alerted to the shooting by apartment management, adding that he intends to keep a closer eye on his surroundings.

“It’s scary. You never know who you’re living next to, who your neighbors are,” Cirilo said. “I know I’ve seen them a few of times ... they kept to themselves. So this could happen to anyone. It’s a reality check.”

jbeltran@express-news.net