Former San Marcos police officer killed in Christmas Day officer-involved shooting

SAN MARCOS, Texas - A man is dead after an officer-involved shooting in San Marcos early Christmas morning.

City officials said the man was a former San Marcos police officer.

The San Marcos Police Department says officers were dispatched to a reported disturbance at The Grand at Stonecreek apartments around 12:12 a.m. Dec. 25.

A woman reported a man had been drinking and was armed with a gun and that he had assaulted an occupant of the apartment.

When police arrived, the man, identified as 36-year-old Kyle Lobo, was outside the apartment with a child in his arms. Lobo handed the child to the woman and then drew his handgun. Officers then shot him, says SMPD.

Lobo was transported to Ascension Seton Hays where he was pronounced dead.

"I didn't really hear anything. You know, I did hear like a little ruckus outside, I went out in the patio and I didn't really suspect anything. So I thought, like, you know, maybe something happened, a little crash or whatever, but nothing major," said resident Jorge Herrera.

Another neighbor FOX 7 spoke with off camera said they saw heavy police presence in the front of the apartment complex. 

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When FOX 7 reached out to neighbors about the incident they say they really don't see this kind of activity.

"In this neighborhood, it is very quiet. I have never seen anything specifically happening that's as extravagant as what you're describing. But there was only like an ambulance and a fire truck here, but it didn't seem to be that serious. So it's been this is a very quiet neighborhood, honestly," said resident River Bilbo.

Neighbors also say they were surprised because several sheriff's deputies live in the complex as well.

"This trooper over there, and I know there's some police over here, so it makes me feel secure, like nothing shouldn't happen. You know, it's a small community like in this apartment area," said Herrera.

City records show Kyle Lobo was actually a former officer.

The city says he resigned from the San Marcos Police Department in October, with a dishonorable discharge, after being accused of family violence on October 6.

He was placed on administrative leave and SMPD started an internal investigation while the Hays County Sheriff's Office conducted a criminal investigation.

San Marcos police say Lobo resigned 3 days later, on October 6, and was arrested by HCSO the same day on charges of Continuous Violence Against the Family and Injury to a Child.

On Monday, a SMPD spokesperson was unable to confirm if the initial call was a family violence incident. It was also unclear if Lobo was required to forfeit firearms in October as a bond condition. 

"Most courts in Texas don’t have any processes in place to start the disposition of the firearm at the time when that offender is at highest risk to perform lethal violence," said Krista DelGallo, legislative director for the Texas Council on Family Violence.

According to the advocacy groups 2021 Honoring Texas Victims report, "the presence of a firearm where there is domestic violence in the home increases the chance for lethality by 500 percent." 

The Texas Rangers will investigate this officer-involved shooting, as will SMPD’s Criminal Investigations Division and the Office of Professional Conduct. 

The involved officers will be placed on administrative leave pursuant to policy, says SMPD.