Texas student fatally shot by campus cop during traffic stop

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio university student was charging toward an officer with his hand raised when he was fatally shot during a traffic stop, authorities said Monday.

University of the Incarnate Word student Robert Redus was shot five times Friday by campus police Capt. Chris Carter after the two struggled when Carter tried to handcuff Redus, Alamo Heights Police Chief Richard Pruitt said at a news conference.

Redus had been pulled over for speeding and driving erratically.

Pruitt said the 23-year-old student had wrestled away Carter's baton and hit him with it before the officer got it back, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

After Redus had broken free from Carter, the officer told him to stop or he would shoot, Pruitt said.

Redus turned around and charged Carter with an arm raised to strike him, Pruitt said. Carter fired his .40-caliber semi-automatic weapon six times, hitting Redus five times, Pruitt said. Redus was hit in the chest, neck, eye, arm and thigh, Pruitt said.

University police officers carry pepper spray in addition to firearms, according to a school news release. Pruitt said Carter did not have any pepper spray.

The dashboard camera on Carter's marked pickup truck had fallen off and officers had made arrangements to have it remounted, according to the university. That did not prevent police from picking up an audio recording of the incident, which Pruitt said could be released later with the district attorney's approval.

Authorities continue investigating the shooting.

Redus, who grew up in the Houston suburb of Baytown, was expected to graduate from the university in May.

Two university students, who said they were close friends with Redus and attended Monday's briefing, said they could not reconcile the depiction of Redus as the aggressor with their own views.

"He was just not that type of person," said Miriam Thomas, 20, a junior at the university. "Everyone has been completely heartbroken over this."