Shocking moment: A rookie cop opens fire on a 17-year-old who was eating a hamburger with his girlfriend in a McDonald’s parking lot: San Antonio officer is fired, teen is hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds
- James Brennand, who served as a police officer in San Antonio, Texas, was fired after he shot a teenager who was sitting in his car eating
- Brennand thought 17-year-old Erik Cantú was in a car that had evaded police the night before and ordered him to get out.
- Body camera footage shows the moment Cantu backed up and Brennand pulled out his gun and shot him.
- Cantú suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to the hospital; his status is still unclear.
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A San Antonio police officer was fired Wednesday after he shot a teenager eating in a McDonald’s parking lot, with body camera footage showing the harrowing moment the officer opened fire.
Erik Cantú, 17, remains in the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and his condition is unclear.
James Brennand, a probationary police officer who served on the force for just seven months, was fired after being placed on administrative duty.
Brennand was called to McDonald’s for a reported disturbance before noticing Cantu’s car outside the restaurant.
The officer thought the car was the same one that evaded him the night before when he tried to stop the vehicle because the license plate did not match the vehicle.
Brennand approached Cantú’s maroon car and asked for cover, but he quickly tried to take matters into his own hands and opened the car door.
Police have not confirmed whether Cantu’s car was stolen.
He found a terrified Cantu inside the car along with a female passenger and ordered him to “get out of the car,” but the frightened teen tried to back out.
As Cantu backed up, the vehicle door allegedly hit Brennand, and the officer drew his gun and immediately began shooting at the teenage couple.
Brennand repeatedly shoots at the driver’s side window and yells “gunshots” into his radio, and Cantu tries to drive away.
He surprised Cantú, who was eating with a 17-year-old female passenger, and demanded that he get out of the car.
When Cantu questioned the officer’s orders, he attempted to put the car in reverse and the door caught Brennand.
Brennand, who has not yet been charged with a crime, quickly opened fire, shooting into the driver’s side of the vehicle as Cantu backed up, and body camera footage captured the officer yelling “shots fired!” on his radio.
Cantú pulled out of the parking spot and tried to drive away, but Brennand continued to fire at the rear of the vehicle.
The teens were then found outside the vehicle a block from the scene of the shooting, and Cantu suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to University Hospital.
Even as Cantú drove away, Brennand continues to fire at the vehicle.
The police report stated that Brennand performed CPR on Cantu when he caught up with him, and the female passenger in the car was uninjured.
Cantu was even charged by proxy with evading arrest in a vehicle and assault on an officer.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said the investigation could take up to a year and “the DA’s office will also review all evidence related to the charges against Erik Cantu once we receive it.”
