Police shoot man firing indiscriminately at people outside San Antonio airport: Police
Police shot and killed an individual who began firing indiscriminately at people outside San Antonio International Airport in Texas on Thursday, police said.
The person, described as being in his 40s, drove up to Terminal B at about 2:30 p.m. local time and was confronted by a police officer, who had been warned of the vehicle driving the wrong way into the terminal. When confronted by the officer, the man got out of the car and started shooting wildly at the officer, the terminal and behind him, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
He was shot by police and was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
One bystander was injured by shrapnel and another was injured as people fled from the area, police said. Neither injury was considered serious. No officers were injured.
"The police officer who stopped this saved a lot of lives," McManus said during a press conference outside the airport Thursday afternoon. "We were very lucky today to not have a lot of people injured or killed because of this event."
"The shooter had a lot of ammunition and a big hand gun that he was shooting indiscriminately," he added.
McManus said the man was firing a .45-caliber hand gun.
The officer who stopped the individual was an 11-year veteran of the San Antonio Park Police. He was not identified by authorities.
The airport was locked down, but reopened a couple hours after the incident.
"There is no active threat to the public. As a precaution, the Airport has been put on lock down," the San Antonio police tweeted.
San Antonio police said they believe the person who opened fire at the airport is the same individual who fired at people from a highway overpass near San Antonio's Stone Oak neighborhood at about 10:30 a.m. local time. McManus said the man fit the same description and shell casings matched those fired at the airport.
No one was injured in that shooting.
Police said they were familiar with the shooter and that he had mental health issues. The FBI said there does not appear to be any connection to terrorism and it will remain a local investigation.
The lower level, where passengers are picked up, was locked down immediately as the shooting took place.
There was briefly a ground stop for arriving and departing airplanes at the airport.
