BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – After 24 hours, a SWAT standoff in northwest Bexar County ended with the suspect injured but in custody on Wednesday night.
The elderly woman who was inside the house during the standoff has died. The suspect, identified as 61-year-old Fernando Macias, has been charged with attempted capital murder of police and is being held in the Bexar County Jail on a $150,000 bond.
The situation began in the 9200 block of Saddle Trail Drive on Tuesday at around 7 p.m. when the Bexar County Sheriff's Office tried to conduct a welfare check on an 80-year-old woman. Macias shot at the arriving deputies.
Authorities said that there was a mental health check issued for the elderly woman.
Macias continued to fire at the deputies as they retreated and attempted to blow up nearby propane tanks by shooting at them.
Two deputies were injured by shrapnel hitting their face and arms, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. Both deputies are expected to recover.
The SWAT team made multiple attempts to contact Macias and convince him to end the standoff peacefully. At some point during Tuesday night, SWAT sent a tactical robot into the house to check on the two people inside, but the man shot the robot.
During a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Sheriff Salazar said that deputies and SWAT were prepared to wait the man out instead of storming the house.
On Wednesday evening, the Texas Department of Public Safety used drones to check on the welfare of Macias and the woman. The man shot at the drones and officers.
Eventually Macias was injured after authorities fired back at him. Sheriff Salazar would not say how badly the suspect was injured, but he was taken to the hospital.
The elderly woman was found dead in the home after the SWAT team was able to get the suspect. Her cause of death is currently unknown and authorities are waiting on the coroner to investigate.
In a press conference, Salazar said that EMS was familiar with the woman and made frequent stops at the home because of poor health conditions.
Authorities have not identified the woman at this time.
