San Antonio, Texas: Officer Kills Man Who Pulled Gun After Chase to Alamo Ranch, Second Man Critical

A man was shot and killed by a San Antonio police officer after pulling a gun at the end of a chase on the far West Side early on Friday, November 6, and a second man was in critical condition after shooting himself, Police Chief Jesse Salame said, according to KSAT.

The shooting happened around 12:30 a.m. Friday at Lone Star Parkway and Wild Pine, not far from Alamo Ranch Parkway. News 4 San Antonio also reported one man dead and another in grave condition after a chase that started on the South Side and ended in the Alamo Ranch area.

How the chase ended

Street Crimes Unit officers initiated the chase on the South Side, Salame said. The chase continued across the city to the Alamo Ranch area, where the vehicle stopped near a gated neighborhood around Lone Star Parkway and Wild Pine.

Police said the driver attempted to enter the neighborhood but was unable to get through the gate. The passenger got out of the vehicle and tried entering a code into the gate keypad.

An Eagle helicopter helped guide officers to the vehicle location, Salame said. An officer approached the passenger, and Salame said the passenger pulled out a gun. The officer opened fire and hit the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the passenger was 36 years old and had not yet been identified in the reports.

San Antonio police, fire and EMS crews responded to the scene.

The driver and the third person in the car

According to Salame, the 21 year old driver pulled out a gun and intentionally shot himself. The driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition. News 4 San Antonio described the second man as being in grave condition in its report from the Alamo Ranch scene.

A third person, a 20 year old woman, was also inside the vehicle, in the back seat. She was not injured and was taken to police headquarters to speak with detectives. Police said she had felony warrants unrelated to the chase and the shooting. This article does not name her, because only one outlet in the reports reviewed carried her name.

On Friday afternoon, police identified the officer who shot the passenger as M. Aranda. Aranda has five years of service with the department, KSAT reported.

Two investigations, and what police have not said

The San Antonio Police Department shooting team and its internal affairs unit are conducting separate but concurrent investigations into the shooting, KSAT reported. Their findings will be forwarded to the Bexar County District Attorney Office for independent review.

The reports did not say what first prompted Street Crimes Unit officers to start the chase on the South Side, and they did not release the names of the dead passenger or of the driver. They also gave no later update on the driver condition beyond critical, and no charges were announced in the reports reviewed.

For Alamo Ranch residents, the shooting closed a violent sequence that began on the other side of the city and ended at a neighborhood gate in the early hours of Friday. The investigations will decide how each part of that sequence is judged, and the district attorney review is still ahead.