SAN ANTONIO — A traffic stop Friday morning on San Antonio’s West Side led to an exchange of gunfire that left a police officer injured and two people dead.

What You Need To Know

  • Two men are dead and a police officer is injured after a traffic stop on San Antonio's West Side Friday morning erupted into gunfire

  • San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus said the incident began as a traffic stop

  • Driver opened fire on the officer, striking him in the hand. Officer returned fire, hitting and killing the driver and a passenger

  • A second passenger was hit in the torso and taken to a hospital for treatment 

According to San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus, who stressed the information was preliminary and based on watching surveillance video without audio, an officer conducted the stop and approached the vehicle, which was occupied by three people.

Following what was described as a “casual conversation” between the officer and the driver, the driver, for an unknown reason, pulled out a gun and began firing at the officer, McManus said. The officer was struck in the hand. The officer’s radio was also struck by a bullet.

The officer retreated and returned fire, striking the driver and the two passengers. The driver and one of the passengers, both men believed to be in their 20s, died. The second passenger, a woman, was struck in the torso and taken to a hospital for treatment.

The officer who fired shots has been with the department for five years. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Friday’s shooting came just a day after a man opened fire outside San Antonio International Airport. Officers shot and killed that man, preventing what McManus described as a possible mass shooting situation.