The man who opened fire at San Antonio International Airport on Thursday fatally shot himself, Bexar County’s medical examiner has told police.
The man, who has not been identified, was shot twice by San Antonio Park Police officer John Maines on Thursday but the medical examiner found those wounds to be non-lethal, according to a Friday press release from the San Antonio Police Department. Maines was hailed Thursday by Chief William McManus as a hero who “saved a lot of lives” by bringing down the gunman.
Police said evidence at the scene indicated the man shot himself after being wounded. He died later at a local hospital.
The suspect, a man in his 40s, prompted an airport lockdown Thursday afternoon when police said he shot indiscriminately, toward Maines and bystanders and vehicles passing through the terminal area. Maines, working a post at the airport, was walking toward the man to confront him about driving the wrong way on the lower-level terminal roadway.
Police believe the suspect was the same man who had been reported hours earlier firing shots near the intersection of U.S. Highway 281 and Loop 1604, where police found 10 pistol shells. The man had a history of mental health issues and run-ins with law enforcement, McManus said at a Thursday press conference.
The release Friday said the medical examiner had not made a “positive identification,” and that the shooter’s identity would not be released until it was confirmed.
Two minor injuries related to the Thursday shooting included a traveler who fell while running away from the scene and another person who may have been hit by shrapnel, according to police.
