A 69-year-old man was shot and killed by five San Antonio police officers after he was seen allegedly waving a handgun near Alderete Park on the city’s West Side on Saturday, August 1, according to Jesse Salame, the active police chief for the San Antonio Police Department.
The officer-involved shooting occurred around 7:45 p.m. in the 600 block of Aurora Avenue, near Alderete Park and Loma Park Elementary School. Officers arrived and confronted a man who was across the street from a house with a handgun. Salame said officers repeatedly ordered the man to drop the weapon.
Police said the man initially appeared as though he might comply but ultimately did not. During the encounter, Salame said the officers “perceived a threat,” and five officers opened fire and struck the man. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Salame said no evidence showed the man fired his handgun, but that he was armed with a loaded handgun. Salame said officers had received similar calls involving the same area over the past month.
The five officers involved have between six months and four years of service with SAPD, according to Salame. Their names have not yet been released. The officers will be placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation. The findings of which will be submitted to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office for ultimate review.