Uvalde Standoff

Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News

Standoff in Uvalde ends in multiple deaths - Multiple fatalities were feared in a domestic incident that began Friday in a rural area southeast of town and led to a standoff with law enforcement that did not end until about noon Saturday after the intervention of a SWAT team backed with a large armored vehicle.

The names of the deceased and the circumstances that lead to the standoff were the subject of avid speculation on social media in Uvalde, but no official account was available.

Uvalde County Sheriff Charles Mendeke, who was on the scene overnight, could not be reached Saturday, and deputies said a statement might not be issued for a day or two.

The Texas Rangers were also involved, but calls to the Department of Public Safety in Austin were referred back to Uvalde County.

The incident began Friday afternoon about 10 miles south of Uvalde on County Road 369.
Access to CR 369 remained closed late Saturday afternoon, even to residents.

"It started yesterday. When I tried to go home last night, they made me go back to town," said Carolyn Scott, who lives on CR 369, a mile-long dead-end road off FM 140, which connects Uvalde with Pearsall.

Scott said she was familiar with the house at end of CR 369 where the shooting occurred. She said it had not been the scene of problems before this.

"I've not known of any law being called out to that house. I've lived out there 20 years, and they've lived out there as long as me," she said of the family apparently involved in the shooting.

Another woman, who lives on CR 369 but asked not to be named, said a teenager whom she was related to was shot and killed Saturday, after he shot an older man on Friday. She said she did not know who the rumored third victim might be.

"I can tell you it was my sister's grandson. I heard that he either witnessed what happened or that he was the shooter, and that he was shot and killed," she said.

"It began yesterday afternoon when people saw all the law coming in here. It ended today about 12:30 p.m. This is the country. It's quiet out here," she added.

After the shooting, a stream of law enforcement vehicles, including a large armored unit on a trailer, slowly filtered out on CR 369 and headed back to town past fields of onion, young hay and cabbage.
The armored vehicle was part of the DPS SWAT team called to the scene, according to the Uvalde Leader-News.