BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A high-speed chase involving a wanted felon and suspected gang member ended in a crash and fatal shooting on the West Side, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Javier Salazar said during a media briefing that the San Antonio Police Department Street Crime Unit called BCSO for help after monitoring a 43-year-old man on Tuesday.
BCSO attempted to make a traffic stop on the man on Castroville Road, near State Highway 151 and South Acme Road, but he refused to stop, Salazar said.
The sheriff said the chase lasted several miles and ultimately ended at the intersection of Historic Old Highway 90 West and Highway 151.
According to Salazar, he believes the man was ramming his vehicle into BCSO squad cars throughout the chase.
Deputies and police officers had the man cornered at the intersection of Highway 90 and 151, and he continued to ram his vehicle at squad cars, Salazar said.
Salazar said a SWAT deputy was outside of his patrol vehicle when it appeared that the suspect tried to ram his vehicle at the deputy. That’s when the deputy opened fire on the suspect, causing him to crash his vehicle. The man, believed to be a member of the San Antonio-based Tango Orejon gang, was pronounced dead at the scene, Salazar said.
According to BCSO, a woman was also inside the vehicle. She was shot in the leg and was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The deputy who shot the man will be placed on administrative leave as part of BCSO’s protocol.
Roads were closed for several hours at the intersection while the incident was investigated.
The chase ended within a few blocks of a Preschool, parents and grandparents were picking up their young students as authorities combed the scene for evidence.
“I said there are helicopters flying, and (the mom) was like, is he OK? Is he safe? Her son and I were like, from what I’m seeing, yes, there are a lot of cops,” said a woman who asked to remain anonymous.
“My daughter got the email saying that everything is OK, but the first thing is it’s too close to the school what’s going on,” said another person.
KSAT will update this story as more information becomes available.