7 police officers wounded in San Antonio shooting

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Seven San Antonio police officers responding to a “suicide in progress” call were shot and wounded by a suspect who was later found dead inside an apartment, police said.

All of the officers sustained non-life threatening injuries in the Wednesday night shooting, and six of them had been released from hospitals by Thursday afternoon, according to a San Antonio police Facebook post.

The officer still in the hospital was expected to fully recover, police said. A preliminary police report of the incident did not detail their injuries.

The officers responded to the initial call at the apartment complex when they received another call of shots fired, according to police. San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus had said that the original call came from one of the suspect's family members.

When officers arrived, a female coming out of the apartment said the suspect was shooting inside and was coming out. Police said Brandon Scott Poulos, 46, then started firing at the officers, striking one in the leg.

The wounded officer was pulled from the scene, and Poulos, who had retreated back into the apartment, began firing again and wounded several more officers. All of the wounded were either taken to a hospital or treated at the scene.

A SWAT team was mobilized. Officers attempted to negotiate with Poulos for several hours to surrender peacefully, police said.

Poulos was later found deceased, and the police report said investigators had not yet determined if he shot himself or was shot by a SWAT officer.

Poulos had been arrested Jan. 18 for a violation of a protection order but had been released on bail the next day, police said.

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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. Helplines outside the U.S. can be found at www.iasp.info/suicidalthoughts.