Texas Sheriff: Man Shot in Video Had a Knife

Sept. 3, 2015
Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau said deputies believed the man was holding a knife when they opened fire.

Law enforcement officials in Texas say that a man seen shot with both hands up in a grainy cell phone video captured by a bystander was holding a knife.

Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau told The San Antonio Express-News that deputies believed the man had the weapon in his hand when they opened fire.

The video shows Gilbert Flores with his hands raised just before shots are fired, but a utility pole obstructs the view of his left hand.

A second video -- that has not yet been released by authorities -- reportedly shows 41-year-old holding the knife when deputies Robert Sanchez and Greg Vasquez fatally shot him in the Walnut Pass subdivision around 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 28.

The deputies were called to the home for a domestic disturbance call when the Flores confronted the deputies in the front yard.

"From the beginning we believe he had a knife when he was shot," Bexar County Sheriff's Office spokesman James Keith told the newspaper. "We are evaluating the evidence to confirm or deny that belief."

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