SAN ANTONIO — A Texas man is accused of firing shots in a downtown San Antonio hotel room on Friday before barging into the elections office across the street, authorities said.
Jouwan D. Williams Thomas, 24, of San Antonio, was arrested on a felony warrant for a stolen vehicle but will likely face charges for drug possession, deadly conduct and trespassing, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told the San Antonio Express-News.
According to Salazar, Thomas fired between 10 and 20 shots in his room at the Quality Inn, the newspaper reported. Still armed, Thomas ran from the hotel and entered the elections office.
Armed man barges into Bexar County Elections Office after firing shots inside nearby hotel room https://t.co/BVekn2Iv8e
— KSAT 12 (@ksatnews) June 25, 2021
The sheriff’s office said Thomas jumped over the counter at the elections office and told workers he was being chased, KSAT reported. Thomas then entered a secured area before a SWAT unit and other law enforcement personnel arrived quickly and apprehended him, the television station reported.
“They (employees) were pretty scared; they weren’t sure what to expect,” Salazar told the Express-News. “But this is why we do active shooter drills, and they locked down and sheltered in place. We are fortunate no one got hurt.”
State Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, was in a meeting with Elections Administrator Jacquelyn Callanen when Thomas entered the building, but the legislator was in another part of the building and was not in danger, Salazar told the newspaper.
“We’re lucky because just a few minutes earlier we were in a room next to where the guy jumped through into the building,” Menendez told WOAI.
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