SAN ANTONIO — A man who San Antonio Police say was wanted on multiple felony warrants was shot and killed by officers Saturday evening in the downtown area.
Police Chief William McManus said the suspect, later identified as 22-year-old Joseph Garcia, was being tracked by SAPD's Repeat Offenders Unit and the Crisis Response Team since Friday. Garcia was followed to a parking lot at the intersection of Broadway and Brooklyn Avenue, where McManus said he didn't cooperate with the detectives as they tried to get him out of his vehicle.
Instead Garcia shouted "I'm going to kill you!" and "I have a gun!" at police, McManus said, adding he proceeded to dig through a bag inside the vehicle. That's when detectives took action, shooting him multiple times.
Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities say he was wanted on felony warrants of unlawful possession of a firearm, continuous violence against family and aggravated promotion of prostitution.
Another 22-year-old man in the backseat of the vehicle was also struck by gunfire. He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
Two of the officers involved, detectives Joshua Nicholson and Alex Solchenberger, have seven years of service with SAPD. The third, Detective Christopher Potts, has been with the force for 15 years. All have been placed on administrative duty during the investigation, per SAPD protocol.
This marks the 15th shooting involving San Antonio police in 2024. Of those, nine have proven deadly. McManus added the information was preliminary and could change as authorities continue to investigate.
ACT 4 SA, a San Antonio organization dedicated to pushing for accountability and transparent measures for public safety in the community, said in a statement that the number of fatal officer-involved shootings this year "should be something concerning to everyone."
Read the full statement from ACT 4 SA Executive Director Ananda Tomas below:
"ACT 4 SA sends condolences to the family members of both the deceased and the injured man and are monitoring for further updates and answers as they come out- regardless of your past everyone has someone that cares for them.
"We will never dehumanize someone because they have a criminal record or not, or because of their profession. Also regardless of the circumstances in this particular case, the fact that we have had 15 officer involved shootings from SAPD alone (not including other local law enforcement agencies or the Bexar county Jail) resulting in 9 deaths should be something concerning to everyone.
"We as a community should be monitoring that. In this case there was a direct threat of life was made, but we know that's not every incident that has happened this year," said Tomas. "Violent crime is down across the country to pre-pandemic levels, but officer involved shootings and deaths by officers are up, with 2023 being the deadliest year in almost a decade here in San Antonio alone."