San Antonio FCU hostages released, gunman in custody

<p>SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Two female employees of San Antonio FCU were released unharmed, and a gunman is in custody following a nine-hour hostage ordeal May 21 at the credit union’s Bandera Road office. Identified as 44-year-old Paul Wiseman of San Antonio, the suspect has been charged with two counts of attempting to commit capital murder and two counts of aggravated kidnapping. He is being held without bond. “Our primary concern was getting our valued employees out safely,” said Jeff Farver, president and CEO of San Antonio FCU. “We had utmost confidence in the ability of the law enforcement professionals in our community to deal with this successfully. [The credit union] also has well-trained professionals who have cooperated completely with other officials, and we are so grateful that the situation has been resolved.” Dressed in camouflage clothing and armed with two guns, a shotgun and possibly an assault rifle, the suspect shot out a front door lock and a front window around 6:30 a.m. to gain entry to the credit union, which is located on the northwest side of town. The two tellers, Brenda Niaves and Jennifer Villareal, were inside the credit union at the time and took refuge in a utility closet. They used a cell phone to call 911 and reported a bomb threat, because the man yelled at the women that he had a bomb. Dozens of police, SWAT team officers, negotiators, and a police helicopter soon surrounded the credit union. During the afternoon, shots were heard from inside the credit union. The hostages were not injured, but the gunman was wounded, according to SAPD. Pitts said a bullet apparently ricocheted and injured the suspect. No shots were fired by law enforcement authorities. “The gunman told the women that he didn’t plan to hurt them, and that if anyone got hurt it would be him,” said Knox Pitts, San Antonio FCU employee. The gunman fired “quite a few shots” inside the branch at walls, ceilings, and a vending machine, according to Pitts, and at least one through a window at police officers. Pitts estimated that based on the spent casings found on the floor, the gunman probably fired in excess of 30 shots, including shooting the lock off the utility room door where the women had locked themselves. Negotiators spoke briefly to the suspect “on and off throughout the day,” SAPD reported, but the gunman made no demands. The suspect released the hostages and surrendered to authorities around 3:30 p.m. Members of the credit union leadership team-including the executive vice president of branch administration, the internal audit team, members of the human resources staff, and professionals from the employee CARE program-were at the scene to provide support for the families of the branch employees, as well as for the other employees. Preliminary investigation did not reveal any connection between the suspect and the credit union. “Our two tellers, both in their early 20s, handled themselves admirably,” Pitts said. “Our internal training focuses on robbery, but they conducted themselves far superior than anyone could have expected for something of that duration.” Other branches of the $1.4 billion asset credit union remained open for business during the ordeal, the Texas Credit Union League reported. -</p> <p>[email protected]</p>