County Updates

Suspect killed in officer-involved shooting identified

A man, later identified as 22-year-old Malachi Williams, was killed last week in an officer involved shooting with the San Marcos Police Department.

According to a press release from the city of San Marcos, a call was made to 911 on April 11 around 9:30 p.m. from two men who said a man was following them near East Hopkins and Cheatham Streets.

The callers reported that the man followed them from a convenience store on Cheatham Street into a neighborhood nearby. They told dispatchers the man following them displayed two large knives and threatened them with the weapons. The man was described as a shorter black male in his 20s wearing a yellow shirt and blue pants. The man walked away from the scene when the men being followed called 911.

Officers in the area located a man fitting the suspect’s description at approximately 10:33 p.m. after he had returned to the convenience store on Cheatham Street. The suspect and the officer walked outside of the store. Once outside, the suspect ran across Hopkins Street, then across Thorpe Lane toward an occupied business.

According to the press release issued by the city of San Marcos, officers unsuccessfully attempted to stop the suspect by deploying a Taser. SMPD reported the suspect, wielding a knife with people in the immediate vicinity, continued running toward the occupied business and was shot by San Marcos Police.

Mano Amiga, a locally based nonprofit that works “with communities directly harmed by criminalization or immigration to push for systemic change at the local level,” issued a statement about the shooting.

“We are horrified to learn that an officer with the San Marcos Police Department took the life of 22-year-old Malachi Williams Thursday evening,” the statement said. “We believe that many facts about the killing have yet to come to light, including unconfirmed reports that Williams may have been stealing food, just trying to survive. It is also unclear why a Taser was not deployed successfully; did the officer miss and then immediately draw his gun? Is a person dead due to this officer's incompetency with less lethal weapons? Our hearts go out to the victim, their loved ones, and all bystanders who witnessed this traumatic event.”

“It is not just for police to act as the judge, jury, and executioner, and we once again question why an officer had to resort to deadly force on a community member,” Mano Amiga Communications Director Sam Benavides added.

Officers on scene provided emergency medical aid and the suspect was transported to Seton Hays Hospital in Kyle where he was pronounced dead. No other injuries were reported as a result of this incident.

The Travis County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy. The Texas Department of Public Safety Texas Rangers Division, the San Marcos Police Department Criminal Investigation Division and the San Marcos Police Department Office of Professional Conduct are conducting concurrent investigations at this time.