SAN ANTONIO — One person is dead and two others are in the hospital after a shootout in a busy mall parking lot.
A shopper noticed his vehicle was missing early Thursday afternoon, so he tracked it to another side of South Park Mall, officials with the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) said.
Police say two people were inside the stolen vehicle: a man in the driver's seat, later identified as 34-year-old Kevin Eric Garcia, and a woman in the passengers seat. The owner attempted to order the suspected thieves out at gunpoint.
That’s when the suspected thief, Garcia, shot the owner, investigators said.
According to SAPD, the owner returned fire, killing Garcia and critically injuring the woman.
“Certainly a case of self-defense, is what we have,” McManus said. “We would prefer that they call the police before taking that into your own hands, but he did what he felt he needed to do.”
Based on preliminary information from investigators, defense attorney Nico LaHood says the owner's actions were justified under the Texas Penal Code.
“Citizens have a right to prevent the consequences of a theft," said the former Bexar County district attorney. "In that prevention of consequences, you can use force to prevent a theft. You can use physical force, but the law also says you can display a weapon. That is considered force, but it’s not considered deadly force.
"What made this different," LaHood continues, "was the suspect actually used deadly force against the vehicle owner. At that time, he had the right to use deadly force to prevent his own injury. He should not be facing any charges from this incident."
LaHood says what a person can do and what a person should do are two different matters.
“If you’re asking me my opinion, (people) have lost confidence in some of our institutions, unfortunately,” LaHood said.
“The victim was my brother and there are two sides to every story," Jose Garcia told KENS 5 on the scene. “Whether my brother was wrong or right, he had a gun pointed at him. I guess he took it upon himself to defend himself. The guy who shot him is a vigilante, not a hero. A vehicle is not worth taking someone's life, I don't care what kind of car it is. You don’t take the law into your own hands. Now my mom, my family, we all have to suffer and just deal with it.”
The investigation is ongoing, and SAPD Chief William McManus said it’s unknown at this point if any charges will be filed.
This is a developing story. Check back with KENS5.com for updates.
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