An off-duty sheriff’s deputy in San Antonio, Texas prevented a mass shooting at a movie theater on Sunday night, according to local reports.

Gunfire shattered the calm on Sunday night around 9:30 p.m. at the Mayan Palace Theatre, NBC affiliate WOAI-TV in San Antonio reported.

The alleged shooter was 19-year-old Jesus Manuel Garcia, who burst out of the nearby Chinese restaurant where he worked and begin firing at the theater next door. Police also told WOAI-TV that he fired at a patrol car as he was heading toward the theater.

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Before Garcia could walk through the entrance, however, he was shot four times by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy working at the theater. The officer’s name was not released.

“The officer involved, she took the appropriate action to try to keep everyone safe in the movie theater,” a department spokesperson told reporters. “She did what she felt she had to do.”

Garcia remains in stable condition at a nearby hospital. He faces aggravated assault charges.

This video is from WOAI-TV in San Antonio, aired Sunday, December 16, 2012.



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