SAN ANTONIO — Sheriff Javier Salazar was speaking with reporters at the scene of a far north-side standoff when he received word that the armed man deputies were trying to apprehend surrendered.
The message was met with an audible sigh of relief from residents who had been prevented from returning home as the situation unfolded.
It was the culmination of an incident lasting about three hours and which saw deputies being fired at by 40-year-old Anthony Tijerina, who officials believe was experiencing a mental health crisis. No one was hurt.
"We're thankful this was able to get wrapped up," Salazar said. "Certainly it could have been an ugly situation all kinds of different ways."
In a Friday update, the sheriff commended the actions of a woman whose home Tijerina allegedly barged into while armed with an AR-15, saying she talked to him calmly to deescalate the confrontation before calling police.
"Obviously anyone in their right mind would be scared at that moment, as I'm sure these two ladies were," Salazar said.
Deputies eventually responded to the home in the 6200 block of Waldon Walk. That, the sheriff said, is "when they began taking fire."
Tijerina allegedly shot four times before deputies safely retreated with the women, after which he shot multiple rounds into the air at random.
Officials believed he was armed with an AR-15 rifle. It isn't believed that he was shot when one deputy, a 10-year veteran of the agency, briefly returned fire.
“Pretty scary situation for all involved," Salazar said. "He was on a second story of the house and had a pretty high vantage point to see all of us until the SWAT team got there. We’re thankful this ended peacefully as much as it did.”
The sheriff said law enforcement were "preparing for a long night" when the update arrived at 10:35 p.m. that the man had been detained.
Tijerina, who has a history of facing non-violent charges in Bexar County, now faces two counts of aggravated assault against a public servant. He remains jailed on bonds totaling $500,000.
The deputy who fired at Tijerina, meanwhile, has been placed on administrative leave while an internal investigation unfolds, per protocol.
“I think they did the best they could do against this suspect who had us outgunned at many times," Salazar said Friday.
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