SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Police Department reported an "officer in trouble" on the city's southwest side Tuesday afternoon, later saying the officer was shot.
The shooting happened at the intersection of Iroquois and Ute streets near I-35. It was reported at about 4 p.m. Tuesday.
A suspect in the shooting was at large for several hours before police said he was caught just after 6:30 p.m.
"There are people on the street who are violent repeat offenders who should be in jail. Period," said SAPD Chief William McManus.
Chief McManus said the man who was arrested is a repeat violent offender who was wanted on an aggravated assault warrant and a violation of a protective order warrant. He has been identified as Dominick Rubio, 29.
McManus later told reporters: "Something needs to change. We can't continue doing this. We can't continue endangering the public by leaving these people on the street."
The injured officer was identified a week later as Jose Bernal Rodriguez, who has been with SAPD for four years. Department officials said on Sept. 12 that "he continues to recover from his injuries."
McManus said Rubio was previously in prison for retaliation in possession of narcotics. He said Rubio was also charged for family violence assault. He believes Rubio should have spent 25 years in prison.
The District Attorney, Joe Gonzales said he has not been told the identity of the suspect so did not comment on the case Tuesday night. However, earlier Tuesday, he released a statement regarding the suspect in the officer-involved shooting from Monday. He said, "Several cases in this offender’s criminal history were dismissed because no such evidence was provided to the District Attorney’s office by SAPD.”
McManus said Tuesday night, “I’m not going to let SAPD accept the blame for all these cases being dismissed.”
The officer who was shot was in stable condition at a San Antonio hospital, according to a department statement. McManus said the officer was going into surgery for his injuries.
