Police said the man was accidentally shot while trying to secure a firearm after the 15-year-old suffered an apparent self-inflicted wound.
SAN ANTONIO, TX — A 15-year-old boy died Sunday after suffering an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a North Side home, and a 38-year-old man was critically wounded when the firearm discharged as he tried to move it away from the teen, San Antonio police said.
Officers responded around 5 p.m. Sept. 20 to the 500 block of Marchmont Lane, near Olmos Elementary School. A preliminary San Antonio Police Department report said the teenager had recently run away from home and returned before the shooting. Police found him dead inside the residence.
Investigators said the 38-year-old man tried to secure or move the firearm after the teenager was shot. The gun discharged during that effort, striking the man, according to the preliminary police account. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Police described his wound as accidental.
Initial reports from the scene said authorities believed the injured man was the teenager’s stepfather. The later preliminary police account identified him by age but did not publicly confirm that relationship. His name and the teenager’s name had not been released in the reports reviewed Monday.
Police said several other people were inside the home when officers were called. Early reporting from the scene indicated four or five people were present, including at least one other child. Family members were reportedly in another part of the house when the gunfire occurred.
A firearm was recovered from the residence. Police have not publicly released information explaining how the teenager obtained the weapon or who owned it. No arrests were reported in connection with the shooting.
Authorities described the teenager’s wound as apparently self-inflicted, but the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office is responsible for making the official determination of the cause and manner of his death. No motive or other circumstances explaining what led to the shooting had been publicly established.
The case remains under investigation by the San Antonio Police Department. Authorities had not announced additional findings about the shooting or an updated condition for the wounded man in the latest reports reviewed.
Author note: Last updated September 22, 2026.