Seven San Antonio police officers were shot and injured while responding to a call of a “suicide in progress” Wednesday evening, the department said.
The shooting suspect was found dead after “barricading himself inside the apartment for several hours,” Chief William McManus of the San Antonio Police Department said in a video released around 2 a.m. Thursday. Morning.
The officers’ injuries are not life-threatening and they are expected to make a full recovery, the police department said in a news release Thursday. Officers have between four and eight years of service within the ministry.
The police department identified the suspect as 46-year-old Brandon Scott Poulos.
Mr. Poulos was arrested Jan. 18 for “violating a protection order, violent trespassing and other crimes,” police said. He was released on bail the next day.
“At the end of the event, the suspect was found deceased,” Chief McManus said. “We don’t know if he was shot as a result of a self-inflicted wound or whether or not he was shot by SWAT officers.”
Chief McManus said some of the neighboring apartments in the 18700 block of Stone Oak Parkway were evacuated during the standoff.
The shooting happened after officers responded to a call about a “suicide in progress” shortly before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said. A second call to police reported shots fired.
When officers arrived, a woman left the apartment and said Mr. Poulos was shooting inside and was going to get out of the apartment. When he left the residence, he fired at police officers, hitting one of them in the leg. This officer was transported to the hospital.
Mr. Poulos returned inside the apartment and fired at several other teams of police officers as they approached, hitting several more of them, police said. The injured officers were either taken to hospital or treated at the scene.
The SWAT team attempted to negotiate with Mr. Poulos for several hours while he remained inside the apartment, police said. He was eventually found dead.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.
