A veteran Bexar County Sheriff's deputy was apparently ambushed and killed in a hail of semi-automatic gunfire while stopped at a traffic signal early Saturday.
The deputy, Sgt. Kenneth Gary Vann, had been on the force for 24 ½ years and was a patrol supervisor, said Bexar County Deputy Chief Dale Bennett.
Vann, 48, was in a marked unit stopped at a red light at Rigsby Avenue and SE Loop 410 on the city's East Side when a car pulled up alongside his and opened fire with no warning, officials said.
“He did not have a chance to do anything, hit the emergency button on his radio, or even to defend himself,” Bennett said. “That car pulled up and started blasting, just like that. So where we are right now is that it looks like an ambush.”
Bennett described the murder weapon as “very probably high caliber, and likely a semi automatic.”
He also said that authorities were trying to track a “small, white car” that was seen in the area right after the shooting, but they do not know what direction it was headed. Investigators were securing surveillance camera tapes from two convenience stores to see if any of the incident was captured on tape.
Chief Deputy Sheriff Manuel Longoria, who was at the scene of the 2:12 a.m. shooting, said the officer was struck by a number of bullets and died at the scene. He is the first deputy killed in the line of duty since 2003.Authorities said they were not sure how many bullets had been fired at the deputy; Longoria said “numerous” spent cartridges were recovered around the shot-out cruiser. Investigators said Saturday they don't yet have a motive or know how many people may have been involved.
“It is just too early, we just don't know,” said sheriff's homicide Lt. Martin Molina shortly after the shooting.
Bennett said as many as 50 officers were at the scene Saturday, trying to develop leads and canvassing the area for witnesses. Sheriff's officers were being assisted by San Antonio police and federal officers, he said.
Longoria said the officer was responding to a call for an accidental shooting in eastern Bexar County, but had stopped for a red light in the left westbound lane on Rigsby, just east of the Loop 410 overpass, “when someone rolls up on his right and just opens up, firing multiple shots.”
The bullets shattered the front and rear passenger windows, repeatedly striking the officer. Longoria said he died before emergency responders could get him to a hospital.
At the scene, debris and shattered glass marked where the shooting started, Longoria said.
Once the shooting stopped, the deputy's patrol car, still in gear, rolled into the intersection and came to rest against yellow, traffic crash barrels underneath the overpass support pillars, Longoria said.
One person who was pulling into a convenience store about 50 yards from the intersection told investigators she heard two distinct, rapid bursts of gunfire.
The witness was at the northeast corner of the intersection when she “heard two, separate real quick bursts” of gunfire a few seconds apart, she said.
She then saw the deputy's car roll to the intersection. She said she did not see another vehicle leaving the area after the shooting.
The deputy's death marks the 17th county peace officer killed in the line of duty since 1840.
Less than two weeks ago, Bexar County
law officers gathered to honor the 16 county officers who have been killed on duty.
The last deputy to die on duty was Jesus Garza, 33, killed in an accident when he lost control of his patrol car near Calaveras Lake and slammed into a stand of trees on Dec. 26, 2003.Vann leaves behind a wife, who is also a sergeant with the sheriff's office and a department veteran of 19 years, along with three children.
“This is just a senseless thing,” Longoria said. “It really feels bad when one from your own agency is killed.”
Read more:
Deputy shot and killed - San Antonio Express-News
