SAN ANTONIO — A 21-year-old man shot Sunday night by San Antonio police while allegedly driving a stolen car towards officers died from his injuries, officials say.
Officers responded to the 17800 block of La Cantera Terrace on the far northwest side around 7:45 p.m. Sunday, where the shooting took place. According to Police Chief William McManus, police were initially on the scene for an unrelated call about someone smoking marijuana.
According to McManus, officers identified a stolen vehicle at the location and parked nearby while trying to contact the initial caller. That's when the suspect, Angel Cuevas, got into the stolen vehicle and attempted to make a getaway; he allegedly jumped the curb and "drove at" the SAPD officers.
"At that point they opened fire, because they were in the path of the vehicle," McManus said.
Two SAPD officers discharged their weapons, hitting Cuevas once in the head, the chief added. On Monday morning, officials said he died from his injuries at a hospital.
The two officers, identified as Travis Maxwell and Daniel Garcia, have each been with the police department for less than a year and will be placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation, per SAPD protocol.
Police continue to investigate the incident, which marks the 11th shooting involving SAPD officers in 2024 so far.
In a statement to KENS 5, SAPD described their technology used to identify the stolen vehicle as a specialized Axon camera "being installed on our fleet vehicles alongside the in-car video camera." Police say it quickly reads license plate numbers and checks them against a database of stolen vehicles before alerting officers.
'Do we pick a new place to live?'
A resident of Paseo Residences at Eilan, which is near the hotel where the incident occurred, spoke with KENS 5 and said there's been an uptick in crime lately. This latest incident makes them fear for their safety.
"If they [Paseo Residences at Eilan management] don’t do anything about it… we’re all moving," they said.
The resident said between car thieves and being attacked, there's no peace. They're asking the complex to bring in more security and security cameras.
"Do we pick a new place to live or try to get somewhere safer?” another resident said.
Paseo Residences at Eilan is managed by Willow Bridge Property Company. KENS 5 reached out to property management related to safety concerns of residents and has yet to hear back.
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