‘Would-be cop killers’ flee into home, Texas sheriff says. Then homeowner fights back

Two Texas sheriff’s deputies are lucky to be alive after coming under fire from a pair of “desperate” burglary suspects early Thursday morning, authorities say — as is a homeowner who took them on with his bare hands.

“It’s just by God’s grace that we’re not talking about two dead deputies this morning,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.

The deputies arrived at a San Antonio neighborhood before 4 a.m. in response to calls of burglaries in the area, according to Salazar.

One deputy saw a suspect and as he was getting out of his vehicle, the suspect opened fire, the sheriff said. Two shots narrowly missed, striking the door frame and piercing the windshield.

“The only reason that suspect stopped firing is because his weapon ran out of ammo,” Salazar said. “He ran it dry in an effort to kill this deputy, who didn’t even get a chance to return fire.”

The suspect ran, and at some point, rejoined his accomplice. They tried to hide, but a second deputy zeroed in on the men after spotting feet behind a parked car.

One of the suspects fired a shot at the officer. He missed, but they made another run for it.

With the deputies trailing them, the suspects broke into a shed and later forced their way into a home.

They robbed the homeowner of his keys, but he refused to be an easy victim, Salazar said. Though unarmed, the homeowner took the men on “hand-to-hand,” causing notable injuries to one of them.

“That homeowner put up quite a fight and caused quite a bit of injury to one of the suspects,” Salazar said. “I’m proud of that homeowner for taking a stand, and making sure that suspect isn’t going to forget breaking into that house for a long time, for sure.”

Officers were ultimately able to capture the “would-be cop killers,” the sheriff said, all without firing a shot themselves.

The first deputy has been with the sheriff’s office for one year and has only been patrolling alone for eight months, according to Salazar. The second is a three-year veteran.

“I’m elated at the fact that they’re alive,” he said, adding that the deputies will be placed on administrative leave for a time while the incident is investigated, which he described as standard procedure.

The suspects are in custody but have not been identified.

They are each facing a charge of attempted murder and burglary with intent on a habitation.

This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 12:02 PM with the headline "‘Would-be cop killers’ flee into home, Texas sheriff says. Then homeowner fights back."