Holly MatkinSan Antonio, TX – A veteran Bexar County sheriff’s deputy was shot in the back while trying apprehend a suspect wanted on narcotics and aggravated robbery charges on Tuesday afternoon, according to police.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said his agency’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit (FAU) had responded to the 200-block of Demya Drive at approximately 3 p.m. on April 5 to serve two felony warrants on an 18-year-old suspect believed to be at that location, KSAT reported.
The team knocked on the front door of the house, but no one answered, Sheriff Salazar said.
The officers then made their way to a shed in the back yard, where the suspect was said to be residing, KSAT reported.
According to Sheriff Salazar, bodycam footage showed a deputy knocking on the door of the shed before turning the knob and briefly looking inside the structure.
He suddenly retreated a moment later, turning his back towards the shed door just as automatic gunfire erupted, Sheriff Salazar told KSAT.
The sheriff said the deputy was shot once in his back, but that he was able to get to cover and called for help.
Law enforcement of all sorts are helping on Demya where a BCSO deputy executing a felony warrant was shot #KENS5 pic.twitter.com/Z0kznKubnL
— SueKENS5 (@SueKENS5) April 5, 2022
The wounded deputy, a 29-year department veteran, was transported to University Hospital in a Bexar County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) vehicle, KSAT reported.
It is unclear whether the bullet that struck him went through is ballistic vest or if it hit him in an area not covered by his vest.
“We believe he’s going to survive,” Sheriff Salazar said.
The deputy’s name has not been released.
The gunman allegedly fired an automatic weapon at additional responding deputies when they arrived at the scene, KSAT reported.
Deputies returned fire.
CNN: Deputy shot and suspect not in custody in San Antonio, Texas. Deputy in stable condition, reported WOAI. (image from KABB/CNN) @WVTM13 #WVTM13 pic.twitter.com/yjq41ScAaQ
— Shannon (@ShannonWVTM13) April 5, 2022
Sheriff Salazar said the sheriff’s office used a drone to make entry into the shed after negotiators and additional tactical teams arrived at the scene, KSAT reported.
They found the gunman dead inside the shed.
Some folks have been here for almost three hours, waiting for a successful resolution on Demya after a BCSO Deputy was shot #KENS5 pic.twitter.com/Ll9nbhM1PW
— SueKENS5 (@SueKENS5) April 5, 2022
Sheriff Salazar said the suspect had one gunshot wound, but that it is unclear if he was struck by rounds fired by police or if he injured himself.
The medical examiner will determine his exact cause of death, Sheriff Salazar said.
Investigators recovered two firearms at the scene.
The gunman’s family identified him as Robert Inosencio, KSAT reported.
Inosencio’s family was outraged with deputies for using deadly force against him.
“Nobody deserves to go that way,” the shooter’s stepfather told KSAT. “Everybody needs f—king help. Everybody.”
Inosencio’s mother said she told police to let her go talk with her son during the hours long armed standoff, but that they refused.
“I tried to ask them. Let me go over there, let me talk to him. No, no. Because they had already killed him,” Amanda Inosencio told WTXF.
Grieving mom on Demya talks about the loss of her son in a confrontation in which he shot a BCSO deputy. #KENS5 pic.twitter.com/WZ8K0O1noi
— SueKENS5 (@SueKENS5) April 6, 2022
The gunman’s family was heard cursing at police from behind crime scene tape on Tuesday, according to KENS.
“They killed my little cousin,” Abel Mata told WTXF. “My little cousin. He was just a little boy.”
Jimmy Mata, another of the suspect’s cousins, said the entire situation was “crazy.”
“Like, he didn’t mess with anybody or nothing,” he told WTXF. “He was in his house on monitor, bro.”
“My heart certainly goes out to those folks,” Sheriff Salazar told KENS. “They’re upset…I can understand that. With that being said, one person determined the course of action today: that suspect.”
The sheriff said the situation “could and should have ended differently, had this young man not decided to fire an automatic weapon at deputies,” KSAT reported.
Bodycam footage of the incident is expected to be released within 10 days, according to the news outlet.
