SAN ANTONIO — A trip to the store for an energy drink turned into an adrenaline-fueled experience for one north east San Antonio man Wednesday.
The man, who said everyone calls him Big John, said as he driving past Ed White Middle School on Midcrown, a man in the street pointed a gun at him and threatened him.
"And I said to myself 'man was that a gun?' but I saw it. It was black and silver," Big John said.
Recovering from the shock as he continued to drive, Big John said he knew he had to do something. "It's so close to the school and I said 'nah I'm turning around and I went and I got behind him and I started following him and I'm like 'Go home bro. Go home.'" Big John said.
"I parked in the middle of the street and didn't let him cross. He's pulling out his ****ing gun. Pointing it at cars. Putting it back in his pocket. Pointing it at cars. Putting it back in his pocket and I'm like 'man don't shoot!'"
The man said he immediately called 911 and came up with a plan of action to keep his car between the school and the man with the gun.
"I tried to stay between him and Ed White. Anywhere else I could hit him with the car. That's what I was going to do if he would have pulled that gun and shot at that school, or shot at anybody for that matter, he would have got hit," Big John said.
Big John said as he followed the man northbound, he thought about the children who didn't survive the shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde.
"Oh hell yeah! I was thinking about kids. I was thinking about kids in general. I was thinking about everybody," Big John said, adding "I made the best of it and at the end of the day not one kid got hurt in San Antonio on the north east side."
Big John said as he waited for police to arrive, he saw a Bexar County deputy constable in a nearby parking lot and he asked that man to intervene.
The deputy did get involved, taking the man into custody a few yards away in the parking lot of a nearby business center and recovering a pistol.
Workers who heard the commotion said they were surprised by the sight, in their otherwise peaceful area, but they praised the man who chased down the gunman, calling him a hero.
A spokesman for North East ISD said San Antonio Police did alert the district about the threat and the school went into a secure status for about 10 minutes, until they were given the all clear. SAPD said there never was a direct threat to the school.
Radio transmissions from the scene indicate that from the time the call was first dispatched until the suspect was reported to be in handcuffs, 10 minutes had elapsed.
Police said the 34-year-old man will be booked on deadly conduct and unlawful carrying charges and the investigation continues.