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Victor Andres Fernandes

Age : 21

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/30/2023

Location : Home Depot parking lot, 600 block of Southwest Loop 410

City : San Antonio

County : Bexar

State : Texas

Agency : San Antonio Police Department

Officer(s) :Christopher Gaige Wesch

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police (plainclothes) during investigation

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/30/2023, San Antonio Police Department property-crime detectives were conducting surveillance of a stolen vehicle that police believed was connected to multiple vehicle burglaries. Detectives followed the vehicle during the day and were waiting for marked patrol officers and an SAPD helicopter to assist when the vehicle entered the Home Depot parking lot in the 600 block of Southwest Loop 410 on San Antonio's West Side at approximately 9:40 p.m. Victor Andres Fernandes, 21, was inside the vehicle with another man.
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Officers positioned police vehicles around the car in an attempt to prevent it from leaving. Fernandes got out and ran through the parking lot while officers pursued him on foot. The other man got out and surrendered to police.
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SAPD alleged that while Fernandes was running, he reached into his clothing and retrieved a handgun. Plainclothes Detective John Helle and uniformed Officer Christopher Gaige Wesch were involved in the foot pursuit. Helle drew his handgun while running behind Fernandes.
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During the pursuit, a single gunshot was heard and Helle fell to the ground with a gunshot wound to his torso. Initial reporting created the impression that Helle had been shot by Fernandes. SAPD subsequently disclosed that Helle had accidentally shot himself. Fernandes had not fired at Helle or any other officer during the pursuit.
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After Helle shot himself, Wesch saw Helle fall and continued pursuing Fernandes. SAPD alleged that Fernandes was still running with a handgun in his hand. Wesch then fired multiple rounds at Fernandes, striking him multiple times. Critically, SAPD's later critical-incident reconstruction acknowledged that Fernandes never fired his gun at police during the encounter.
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Fernandes fell in the Home Depot parking lot. Officers provided medical assistance, but he died at the scene. The Bexar County Medical Examiner subsequently identified him as Victor Andres Fernandes, 21.
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The police shooting occurred during an extraordinary period in which numerous SAPD officers had recently been shot or injured. Fernandes' killing was the second fatal SAPD shooting on August 30 alone. Earlier that day, police killed Michael Kirkland following a separate pursuit and gunfire on Interstate 10.
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SAPD released dash-camera and body-camera footage on 09/23/2023. The footage clarified a major point that was obscured in the initial reporting: the officer wounded during the encounter had not been shot by Fernandes. Helle accidentally discharged his own firearm while running. Wesch subsequently shot Fernandes as Fernandes continued running. Police maintained that Fernandes had a handgun in his hand, but acknowledged that he never fired it at officers.A major later development occurred on 08/13/2025, when Fernandes' father, Victor Fernandes Sr., individually and on behalf of his son's estate, filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against Christopher Wesch, thereby publicly identifying Wesch as the officer whose gunfire killed Fernandes. The lawsuit, Fernandes, Sr. v. Wesch, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas under 42 U.S.C. §1983.
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The federal lawsuit remains active. Wesch filed an answer and demanded a jury trial. U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez entered a scheduling order setting a final pretrial conference for 02/11/2027 and jury selection and trial for 02/22/2027. Discovery was scheduled through April 2026, and in January 2026 the court granted an extension of the parties' expert-disclosure deadlines.
OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Christopher Gaige Wesch is the SAPD officer identified in the 2025 federal civil-rights lawsuit as the officer who shot Fernandes. City employment records show Wesch entered San Antonio city employment as a police cadet in 2019 and was listed as a police officer from 2020 forward. He remained listed as an SAPD officer in 2024.
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Fernandes' father and estate sued Wesch personally in federal court on 08/13/2025 under 42 U.S.C. §1983 in connection with Fernandes' death. The case is Fernandes, Sr. v. Wesch, No. 5:25-cv-00992, Western District of Texas. Wesch answered the complaint on 10/06/2025 and requested a jury trial. The litigation remains pending, with trial currently scheduled for February 2027.
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John Helle was the plainclothes property-crime detective involved in the foot pursuit but was not the officer identified in the federal case as Fernandes' shooter. Helle was a 10-year SAPD veteran at the time. He accidentally discharged his own handgun while running, shooting himself in the torso and requiring hospitalization. SAPD did not publicly disclose until two days later that Helle's wound was self-inflicted.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/08/31/shooting-at-west-side-home-depot-draws-heavy-police-response/
https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/shooting-on-southeast-side-shuts-down-westbound-lanes-of-i-10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z0unZVsBk8
https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/09/01/man-fatally-shot-by-sapd-officer-in-home-depot-parking-lot-identified/
https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/09/23/sapd-releases-body-camera-video-of-foot-chase-where-deputy-accidentally-shot-himself-suspect-killed/
https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/michael-kirkland-jacob-string-san-antonio-sapd-18385623.php
https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/sapd-shootings-injured-cops-explained-18364587.php
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/texas/txwdce/5%3A2025cv00992/1172859187