SAN ANTONIO — Raul Roman said when he was roused from his sleep early Tuesday morning by loud banging and shouting, he thought he and his roommate were about to become victims at their apartment on Loop 410 near Starcrest.
"I don't know who is it at the door. We're thinking it must be robbers or killers of some sort," Roman said.
Roman said his 22-year-old roommate was armed and, in a blink, the intruders bashed a hole in the door, threw an explosive in, yelled "Police!" and started shooting.
The incident happened around 6 a.m.
"We were being attacked. We don't know who is at the door. First thing we hear is police and then get shot immediately," Roman said. "I mean, how the hell are we going to respond to that?"
Roman said he had no idea his friend had an outstanding federal warrant, but he hit the floor while bullets were flying at his unit at the Merida Apartments.
"I put my hands out. I can see the laser pointers going at my hands. They're yelling, 'Don't move! Don't move!' and my doorway is blocked with my best friend's body," Roman said.
He said when agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) took control, they told him to show his hands, back down the hallway and step over his friend's body to surrender.
Roman said his friend's father and aunt had been asleep in the living room of the apartment. They too were taken into custody for questioning.
"He was a good friend, a good son, taking care of his Pops."
Admitting his friend has a criminal history, Roman said he's familiar with the justice system and thinks he wouldn't have resisted.
"He would have made arrangements. He'd be like, 'Aw man, that's nothing, I'll do the time,' he would say. He's not concerned with that stuff," Roman said, adding: "Like, just talk to us. Communicate. But no, boom! Like, wow! And here we are."
As for the charges related to the incident, ATF issued the following statement:
"This morning, during the execution of a court-authorized knock and announce federal arrest warrant at a residence in San Antonio, Texas, the subject of the arrest warrant was shot and killed by an ATF agent after the suspect pointed a firearm at the search team.
"As is standard practice, the matter is now under investigation by the San Antonio Police Department and local authorities in Texas. ATF has no further comment at this time."
The county medical examiner identified the man as 22-year-old Sina Chohili Sobby.
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