These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is essentially the same as the calendar version.

A family — a husband, his wife, and their adult son — was leaving the Shops at Rivercenter around five and heading for the lot where they’d left the car. They found a man and a woman breaking into it. It’s nice to do things as a couple, don’t you think?

Be careful and know the law: Prosecutors often charge people when they use deadly force to stop a property crime.

That said, (a) this was Texas, where the rules are a little different,1 and (b) the burglars pointed guns at the family, so there was no question that the threat of death or great bodily harm was present.

And, as it happens, brandishing the guns was exactly the wrong call for this family. The woman’s husband and her son were both packing, and both of them drew.

Nine or ten rounds flew. (Witnesses said “eight to ten,” but #9 is in the upper-left of this screen capture from the KSAT 12 newscast.) The male burglar took a round to the face; the female one was also hit.

The couple got into a car and drove away. A hotel downtown locked down, checking that everybody inside was actually a guest, but the two weren’t there: They were found later at the hospital.

The man who caught the round was 35. The woman was arrested at the hospital on Class C warrants and charged with aggravated robbery — though it’s not clear whether that was from this incident or another one.

Sources

News

KSAT covered it twice, live from the scene that evening and again in writing the next day.

Live from the scene, before they had significant detail; two minutes of airtime.
Man shot in his face near Shops at Rivercenter, San Antonio police say (Next-day write-up)

Family shoots at suspects breaking into their car outside the Shops at Rivercenter, SAPD says (KENS 5). The link is to the article; here’s the video from that article, but via YouTube.

SAPD shares new details on shooting near Rivercenter Mall (MySA)

2A / Specialist Media

Father and Son Open Fire on Armed Suspects During Car Burglary, Shooting One in the Face in San Antonio (USA Carry; Luke McCoy). Unusually, McCoy has a video for this one.

1

Don’t take my word for it. I’m not a lawyer.

Good Guy with a Gun #320: San Antonio, TX