A parking lot turned into a lethal encounter on Thursday afternoon at South Park Mall, San Antonio, Texas, July 27, when a man and his passenger left the mall around 1 pm to find their Ford truck stolen.
Unwilling to let their vehicle go, they located it in another parking lot within the mall premises, with a man and a woman inside.
In an assertive response, the owner of the truck held the suspects at gunpoint while waiting for the police to arrive. But the confrontation escalated when the alleged car thief pulled out a handgun and shot the vehicle’s owner. The owner returned fire, hitting both suspects. The male thief was pronounced dead at the scene, while the vehicle’s owner and the female suspect were taken to a local hospital in critical and stable condition, respectively.
The event was described as a self-defense case by San Antonio Police Chief William McManus, stating that the truck’s owner was within his rights to track down his stolen property, but he advised citizens to call the police before taking such matters into their own hands. Photos from the scene showed the injured female suspect being aided by officers, with blood flowing down her leg. The dead thief was found face-down in the parking lot.
The deceased suspect’s brother, Jose Garcia, cast doubts on the vehicle owner’s supposed right to chase and kill his brother. He censured the shooter for acting like a vigilante and emphasized the importance of leaving these situations to the police.