SAN ANTONIO — Two San Antonio police officers are expected to survive after being shot while responding to a domestic disturbance.
It happened Thursday evening on the northeast side.
On social media, Police Chief William McManus praised the heroic homeowner for stepping in to help one of the wounded officers.
Witnesses described the moment their quiet corner of the Escalera subdivision erupted in gunfire.
“We were really shaken by what was going on,” said Don Seiler. “It just got out of hand.”
Seiler said the sound of shouting brought him out of his home. He lives two doors down from the suspect, Jesus Prado.
“I came out to see if we needed to make an intervention,” said Seiler. “One of the saddest parts was one girl didn’t want to go with her mother and the other wanted to go with dad because he was threatening to burn the house down. The mother took a propane torch away from [Prado] and managed to get all the kids in the car and left.”
According to police, Prado doused his house in gasoline. When officers arrived, they tried to clear the busy street by telling residents to ‘go inside.’
“The neighborhood children ride scooters up and down the road,” said Seiler. “They were gathered because they knew something unusual was going on, I think. When the policeman said, ‘Get in your house,’ they were looking around because their homes are all around the subdivision. Then, the neighbor across the street corralled them and took them inside to the back of their house.”
That’s when Prado began firing at officers from a second story window, Prado says.
According to the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), Prado used a long gun. Officers returned fire, but two were struck.
Joshua Rael says he was on his front porch when a wounded policeman came around the corner.
“He asked me, ‘Can you please let me inside and shut the door behind me and lock it?’,” Rael said.
The officer pulled out a tourniquet and explained how to use it, according to Rael. He and his wife followed instructions to help stop the blood flow.
"We respect the officer greatly,” said Rael. “He stayed calm, he told us how to operate the radio and what to say to dispatch."
Rael says they were just doing the right thing. He wanted to share a message with the community, though.
"It would be very good for people to have first aid training,” said Rael. “It can save your life, your kids life."
Jesus Prado, 40, was charged with two counts of attempted capital murder and one count of deadly conduct with a firearm. He is being held on a $3 million bond. Prado is expected to appear in court on Nov. 21.