The man, who authorities have not yet named, was digging through debris from a house fire in San Antonio when a news crew from CNN affiliate KSAT arrived to report on the blaze, according to the affiliate.
The suspect was described as a man in his 20s and a nephew of person whose house burned down, KSAT reported.
As the news crew interviewed family members about the house fire, the man emerged with two handguns and allegedly fired at them multiple times, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
The team from KSAT ran from the scene and family members tried to flee in an SUV while the man fled to another home with “a number of people” inside, who were known to the suspect, McManus said.
Officers were able to get the people out of the house and the man went behind the residence and began moving between two sheds, according to the chief.
Police locked the man out of the house at that point, and when he saw officers at the screen door, he began shooting at them, McManus said.
“We did not intend to engage the individual, this was a plan to keep him locked out of the house to make it easier for us to apprehend him, but he saw the officers at the door and started shooting at them through the door,” the chief told reporters.
“Five officers returned fire and he is deceased in the backyard right now,” he said.
The officers involved in Monday’s fatal shooting have between five and 18 years with the department, and they will all be placed on administrative duty until the district attorney reviews the case, McManus told reporters.
San Antonio firefighters have labeled the house fire as suspicious, according to KSAT.
