April 26 (Punjab Khabarnama) : A 42-year-old man shot and killed by cops on Sunday, April 21, in San Antonio has been identified as Sachin Sahoo.
According to the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), the incident occurred when the Indian-origin man hit two officers with his vehicle in a bid to flee as they were trying to arrest him in an aggravated assault case. Investigators claim that’s when police officer Tyler Turner fatally shot Sahoo.
Sahoo was born in Uttar Pradesh but some sources speculate that he may have been a naturalised US citizen.
Why were police looking for Sachin Sahoo?
Officers were called to a residence in San Antonio’s Cheviot Heights in response to an allegation of an aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, the SADP stated as per KENS5.
Soon after arriving at the spot, cops learned that Sahoo rammed his vehicle into his 51-year-old roommate identified as Candace Byrnes.
“She didn’t really know him that well,” said the victim’s daughter Ashley Ettner, adding that her mother met Sahoo about a month ago.
Ettner further informed that Byrnes had “two broken bones in her pelvis, she had to have surgery, she does have two brain bleeds.”
The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Following this, police issued an arrest warrant to Sahoo. However, neighbours notified the police that Sahoo had made his way back to the initial site.
Sahoo struck two policemen with his car after they arrived at the spot and tried to speak with him. One of the officers fired his weapons and Sahoo was declared dead as he was hit by the bullet. While one of two injured cops received on-the-spot medical attention, another was sent to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Officer Tyler Turner, who has been serving the department for the last five years, was put on routine administrative leave while the SAPD is probing the officer-involved shooting.
Candace Byrnes speaks from her hospital bed
Speaking to KENS5, Candace Byrnes disclosed that she met Sahoo outside the Salvation Army. He introduced himself as an Uber driver and offered her a room in exchange for help around the house. She said that initially she felt secure but later found him talking to himself.
Sahoo was off his medication, said Byrnes, claiming that he wanted to maintain a relationship more than just friendship.
According to her, Sahoo got angry when she told him that she was “going to leave” and would be back in next few hours.
Byrnes was struck by Sahoo’s SUV when she was waiting for a friend to pick her up.
Sachin Sahoo’s ex-wife recalls him as a family man
Confirming that Sahoo was suffering from a bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, his ex-wife Leah Goldstein said he was a “family man” and “a great dad”.
She further stated that Sahoo stopped taking his medicines, adding that use to “hallucinate and just hear voices and just get stuck in his own mind.”
She revealed that Sahoo called her before the incident and sounded scared. She even informed police about his mental illness and that he didn’t own any weapons.
Goldstein regretted the fact that police did not take him to a hospital. “He could’ve been taken to the hospital. But everything went wrong.”
