SAN ANTONIO — A parks police officer may have prevented a mass shooting at San Antonio International Airport on Thursday, San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus said.

About 2:30 p.m. Thursday, McManus said, a man who has yet to be identified drove the wrong way into Terminal B and began firing a gun wildly.  

The shooter was confronted by a police officer who had been warned about someone driving the wrong way into the airport. McManus said the suspect exited his car and began firing at the officer. 

“What we had there was the start of an active shooter situation,” McManus said at a news briefing.

More police arrived and returned fire, and the man was struck. He was taken to a hospital where he later died.

“The officer who stopped this saved a lot of lives because this guy had a full box of ammunition, he had a .45 caliber handgun that he was shooting in the direction of the terminal, at the police officer and behind him, indiscriminately,” McManus said. “We were very lucky today not to have a lot of people injured or killed.”

McManus said the deceased man was known to police and is believed to be the person responsible for firing a gun from the overpass located at Loop 1604 and U.S. 281. It’s further believed the man had a history of mental health issues.

Police were not injured in the exchange of gunfire but the incident caused the airport to go on lockdown for a time. There were no other serious injuries reported in the incident.