SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police are searching for a man who fired a gun at a woman outside an abortion clinic on Saturday morning.
No one was injured, San Antonio Police Department spokesperson Christopher Ramos said, crediting an armed bystander who returned fire.
The shooting happened Saturday around 8:30 a.m. in the 7400 block of John Smith Drive, near the intersection of Wurzbach and Babcock roads on the Northwest Side, outside of Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services.
A man who arrived with a woman at the facility pulled out a gun and shot at the woman but missed, Ramos said during a morning press conference near the scene.
A person who was with a group of protesters near the clinic saw the shooter and used his handgun to fire at the man, police said. Police said the protester had a license to carry the pistol.
“It is still under investigation... you have a right to defend somebody else,” Ramos said. “... He did something a reasonable person would do. He saw someone engaged in a shooting and so he went and stepped in and intervened and stopped that shooting from occurring.”
The shooter ran away from the scene and dropped a firearm, which investigators believe they found.
Officials are investigating the shooting as a domestic violence incident, and they said the clinic was not the target, Ramos said. He said the shooter and the victim knew each other, but declined to provide more details on the relationship.
While no injuries were reported, some bullets hit the health clinic, authorities said. The victim was transported to police headquarters.
Investigators are canvassing the area in search of the man. Ramos said people in the area should keep an eye out for anything suspicious and that the man could have another weapon.
It’s unknown if the shooter was hit by the gunfire, but as of 10:40 a.m., police said he had not checked into any area hospitals.
Ramos did not provide details on the identity or description of the suspect.
All of the information so far is preliminary and is subject to change, Ramos said.
This is a developing story. Click here for the latest updates.