Bodycam captures moment man was fatally shot after opening fire on drivers, police

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police have released body camera video taking pictures the moment a man was fatally shot after he shot an officer and opened fire on drivers on an East Side Highway.

In the video, officials are noticed responding to the 6800 block of Cross Spring on Aug. 30 for a suspect sought after on annoyed attack towards a public servant.

The suspect failed to drag over when officials attempted to do a visitors prevent. However, the motive force later pulled over to let a girl out of the car earlier than main officials on a pursuit.

After placing a marked patrol unit, the suspect drove the flawed method on the I-10 E get right of entry to street and crashed into any other car.

The man was then noticed working from officials and firing more than one rounds, placing one officer within the arm.

Two officials shot more than one rounds on the man, who persevered to run down a grassy embankment, finishing on the principle lanes of the freeway.

While on the freeway, the suspect shot at passing automobiles and attempted to carjack a motive force.

One girl he attempted to carjack refused to offer him her automobile, and he fired gunshots at her, police stated. She wasn’t injured.

The two officials exchanged gunfire as soon as once more, this time placing the suspect, who later died because of his accidents.

The 40-year-old gunman, later known via SAPD as Michael Kirkland, was sought after on more than one legal warrants and a misdemeanor warrant earlier than the taking pictures passed off, McManus stated.

The legal warrants come with annoyed attack with a dangerous weapon, annoyed attack on a public servant and perhaps evading, he stated.

SAPD additionally known the officer shot within the incident as Officer J. Owen, an eight-year veteran assigned to the Street Crimes Unit. He was taken to the medical institution in solid situation.

The taking pictures ended in an hours-long closure of I-10 and New Braunfels and Highway 90 Westbound and Eastbound from Interstate 35.

District Attorney addresses backlash after suspect’s violent crimes pushed aside no less than seven instances since 2019

Kirkland has a long legal historical past that spans a number of years, however he wasn’t formally convicted of the closing seven fees on his report.

With two shootings involving officials and suspects with remarkable crimes within the closing week, McManus stated he’s nonetheless inquisitive about how those suspects had been nonetheless out on the streets prior to those shootings.

“I remain concerned about people who are on the street who should be in jail because they’re habitual offenders, especially the violent crime habitual offenders, which this individual was,” McManus stated.

District Attorney Joe Gonzales held a press convention Wednesday night to handle those considerations and why the fees had been pushed aside towards Kirkland.

With seven separate instances since overdue 2019, Gonzales stated the dismissals had been normally because of loss of proof, now not in a position to find sufferers or witnesses, or any other technicality.

“This man has had incredible luck because every one of those cases where we’ve tried to go to trial, where we’ve tried to make him accountable, we’ve been unable to do that because of proof problems,” Gonzales stated all the way through a press convention. “That’s the situation we find ourselves in.”

Gonzales stated on the subject of a legal case, they have got so to end up “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the crime was dedicated. Otherwise, the suspect might not be convicted.

Below is a listing of the seven legal instances delivered to the DA involving the suspect that had been pushed aside, in line with Gonzales:

• Sept. 2, 2019

  • Aggravated Assault w/ Deadly Weapon

  • Unable to find sufferer, case pushed aside

• Sept. 5, 2019

• Sept. 11, 2019

• Sept. 20, 2019

• Nov. 27, 2020

  • Aggravated Assault w/ Deadly Weapon

  • Victim was a person who was sentenced to jail. By the time the DA’s workplace situated him and reached out, inquiring for cooperation, he wasn’t .

  • Case pushed aside

• July 15, 2023

• August 2023

  • Aggravated Assault Against Public Servant

  • Case filed via Somerset Police Department

  • Active warrant — now not arrested

“This individual was a habitual offender… But that doesn’t mean anything for punishment if we can’t even get that far,” Gonzales stated.

According to Bexar County court docket data, Kirkland’s legal report dates again even additional to the yr 2000. It’s unclear if he confronted any jail time for the ones fees.