#SanAntonio #Police #Shooting
A police officer was shot in the hand after a driver pulled a gun during a routine traffic stop, but still managed to return fire, killing two suspects and wounding a third in San Antonio, Texas.
The officer pulled a truck over Friday afternoon and had 'casual conversation' for a couple minutes with the driver, said San Antonio Police Chief William McManus, who reviewed the officer's body camera.
Then the driver pulled out a gun and fired multiple times, the chief said.
One bullet hit the officer in the hand and another hit his radio. The officer retreated and returned fire, killing the driver and passenger, both men.
A third passenger, a woman, was shot in upper torso and was rushed to an area hospital, McManus said.
'He was an officer patrolling here, routine traffic stop, which turned out to be not so routine after all,' McManus said.
'The officer is very, very lucky to be alive at those close range having been shot in the hand and not somewhere else more vital.'
The driver or passengers weren't making any motions with their hands, and no one made any excited movements or raised their voices, said McManus, adding he doesn't know why the driver resorted to violence.
The police officer's identity wasn't revealed, but McManus said he's a five-year veteran of the force and is recovering in the hospital.
He's been placed on administrative leave, according to the San Antonio Police Department.
Both men who were killed appeared to be in their mid 20s, the chief said.
San Antonio police said their names will be released after the medical examiner makes positive identifications of both men.
Police said the third victim, a 22-year-old woman, was graved by a bullet, and her injuries aren't life threatening.
The San Antonio Police Department Shooting Team and Internal Affairs will conduct separate, but concurrent investigations, per department protocols.
The case will then be forwarded to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office for an independent review.
This is San Antonio's second gunfire exchange involving police in two days.
On Thursday, a gunman with 'mental issues' was shot and killed by police after he drove up to the terminal of San Antonio International Airport and open fired.
