Seven San Antonio police officers were injured in a shooting when responding to a call for a “suicide in progress” on Wednesday night, the department said.
The suspect in the shooting was found dead after he “barricaded 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. on Thursday.
The officers’ injuries were not life-threatening and they were expected to make a full recovery, the Police Department said in a news release on Thursday. The officers have between four and eight years of service with the department.
The Police Department identified the suspect as Brandon Scott Poulos, 46.
Mr. Poulos was arrested on Jan. 18 for “a violation of a protection order, a violent offense, and other crimes,” the police said. He was released on bail the next day.
“At the end of the event, the suspect was found to be deceased,” Chief McManus said. “We don’t know if he was shot by a self-inflicted wound or whether or not he was shot by SWAT officers.”
Chief McManus said that some of the nearby apartments in the 18700 block of Stone Oak Parkway were evacuated during the standoff.
The shooting took place after officers responded to a call about a “suicide in progress” just before 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the police said. A second call to the police reported that shots were being fired.
As officers arrived, a woman left the apartment and said that Mr. Poulos was shooting inside and was going to come out of the apartment. When he left the residence, he shot at officers, striking one in the leg. That officer was taken to a hospital.
Mr. Poulos returned inside the apartment and shot at several more teams of officers as they approached, striking several more of them, the police said. Those injured officers were either taken to a hospital or treated at the scene.
The SWAT team attempted to negotiate with Mr. Poulos for several hours while he remained inside the apartment, the police said. He was ultimately found dead.
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.
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