Texas man tracks down suspect who allegedly stole his truck, kills reported thief during shootout at mall

Two people are in the hospital and one person is dead after a shootout erupted at a popular mall when a Texas man tracked down alleged thieves accused of stealing his truck.

A shopper at the South Park Mall in San Antonio reportedly noticed his Ford truck had been stolen on Thursday afternoon. The owner tracked down his truck to another side of the South Park Mall, according to the San Antonio Police Department.

There were allegedly two people sitting inside the stolen vehicle — a man in the driver's seat and a woman in the passenger's seat. Police said the owner brandished a firearm and ordered the suspected thieves to exit the vehicle. That's when a shootout broke out.

The man in the driver's seat shot the owner, according to the SAPD. The owner reportedly returned fire — killing the suspected thief and injuring the woman. The female was taken to the hospital and is said to be in critical condition. The truck owner was also hospitalized in stable condition, according to police.

The shooting happened within two minutes of the owner contacting the police, according to the SAPD.

Newsweek reported, "A man who had been working out at a gym at the mall said users were locked inside for 10-15 minutes during the incident."

San Antonio Police Department chief William McManus said the owner "had every right to track his vehicle down."

McManus added, "At the moment, it appears to be a case of self-defense."

"Now, we would prefer that [you] call the police before taking that into your own hands, but he did what he felt he needed to do, and we have one dead suspect, and we have a critically wounded passenger who was with the suspect, and we have a wounded owner of the vehicle," he stressed. "Again, he had every right to track his vehicle down."

Defense attorney Nico LaHood told KENS, “Citizens have a right to prevent the consequences of a theft. In that prevention of consequences, you can use force to prevent a theft. You can use physical force, but the law also says you can display a weapon. That is considered force, but it’s not considered deadly force."

"What made this different was the suspect actually used deadly force against the vehicle owner," said LaHood — a former Bexar County district attorney. "At that time, he had the right to use deadly force to prevent his own injury. He should not be facing any charges from this incident."

McManus said the investigation is in the "preliminary" stages but noted the owner had not yet been hit with charges.

Truck owner shoots, kills suspect while trying to recover vehicle at South Park Mall, SAPD sayswww.youtube.com

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