By HOLDEN WALTER-WARNER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
A 28-year-old was identified by police Tuesday as the woman who was shot and killed in front of her three children earlier this week – and her estranged husband has been questioned in her death.
Samantha Lopez, 28, was shot and killed on Monday morning, authorities say. Her children, including a 10-year-old, six-year-old, and two-year-old were all inside of the vehicle at the time of the shooting.
KTSA reports that Lopez was shot in a vehicle while outside of her apartment complex in northeast San Antonio. She had just loaded her kids up in the car for school. She was found dead behind the wheel, police say.
A 30-year-old suspect who police later identified as the woman’s estranged husband was taken into custody by police for questioning; he hasn’t been arrested or named as of Tuesday.
Samantha Lopez, 28, was identified on Tuesday as the victim in the deadly shooting a day earlier outside of the M.C. Beldon Apartments in San Antonio (pictured)
McManus did say police were ‘relatively certain’ that the suspect was her husband before Lopez was identified (investigation pictured)
The shooting happened on Monday morning as Lopez was preparing to take her children to school (investigation pictured)
The children were not injured in the shooting and police say they are now in the custody of their grandmother.
The shooting happened on Monday morning as Lopez was preparing to take her children to school.
The San Antonio Police Department tells DailyMail.com that officers were dispatched to the apartment complex for a shooting in progress.
When they arrived, they found Lopez suffering from gunshot wounds, though it’s unclear where she was shot.
EMS soon arrived on the scene, which is when Lopez was pronounced dead.
A witness reported seeing Lopez’s estranged husband in the area leading up to the shooting.
The shooting happened on Monday morning as Lopez was preparing to take her children to school (apartment complex pictured)
According to Police Chief Bill McManus, the husband – who has not been identified – has a history of violating protection orders dating back to 2018.
He was out on bond at the time of the shooting, but he has not been officially arrested or charged in Lopez’s death.
‘He is out on bond right now for violation of that protective order, and look what happened, here we are this morning,’ McManus said during comments on Monday.
No motive has been provided for Lopez’s shooting.
According to KTSA, McManus called the shooting of Lopez ‘an absolute tragedy’ during comments on Monday.
The San Antonio Police Department tells DailyMail.com that officers were dispatched to the apartment complex for a shooting in progress
When they arrived, they found Lopez suffering from gunshot wounds, though it’s unclear where she was shot. EMS later pronounced her dead at the scene
Pictured: San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus, who has commented on the case
‘I can’t express the outrage that something like this could happen after our involvement with this individual so many times,’ McManus said. ‘I mean it’s clearly written on the wall what’s going on here. And yet again, here we are.’
The chief also bemoaned an ability to protect victims of family and domestic violence as the alleged shooter was out on bond at the time of the shooting.
‘If we can’t do that, then we’ve failed as a criminal justice system,’ McManus stated. ‘My question is: how do we make victims feel secure coming for help after this?’