By Sarah Roebuck
Police1
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Two officers with the San Antonio Police Department were seriously wounded when they were shot by a suspect who was out on bond during a pursuit on Aug. 24.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus is voicing his frustrations, stating the suspect, Jesse Garcia, should have never been out on bond in the first place.
“We have an individual, who’s out on two bonds, there are three active warrants out for him, the dangerous, dangerous man the officers were following this individual from 60 yards back and he opened up on him with an AR and shot one of our officers in the eye,” McManus told FOX 29.
“I’m not pointing fingers here at anybody; I’m just asking the question ‘why,’” McManus added.
In a social media post, McManus said Garcia had been out on two bonds for almost a year, even though he committed more crimes in that time frame and was wanted on three different warrants.
“Why wasn’t he in jail? Why weren’t his bonds increased? People want to know,” McManus said.
The shooting happened around 5 p.m. on Aug. 24 after officers responded to an area regarding the location of a wanted person. The suspect left the apartment complex carrying a long gun and joined a driver in a vehicle that started to leave. The suspect saw the police behind him and began shooting, hitting one of the officers, McManus said.
The pair carjacked a different vehicle and fled to another San Antonio apartment complex before shooting and wounding another officer multiple times, McManus said.
The alleged shooter, identified as Garcia, barricaded himself in the apartment complex.
The injured officers were transported to local hospitals with life-threatening injuries, said McManus.
The suspect was arrested after police set up a perimeter around the area.