Otis McKane, accused of fatally shooting cop, says he ‘lashed out’ over child custody dispute

The man accused of fatally shooting a San Antonio police detective Sunday as he sat in his squad car said he acted out of anger over an ongoing child custody fight that had nothing to do with the law enforcement officer.

Otis Tyrone McKane made the comments to KSAT-TV reporters late Monday as he was escorted by officers to a squad car headed to Bexar County Jail.

“It’s society not letting me see my son. I lashed out at someone who didn’t deserve it,” Mr. McKane said. “I’ve been through several custody battles, and I was upset at the situation I was in.”

Asked whether he knew Detective Benjamin Marconi, the suspected gunman said he did not and he was sorry for the devastation he caused the police officer’s family.

Detective Marconi, 50, was shot and killed Sunday as he sat in his squad car writing a traffic ticket. Police said a gunman drove up and parked behind Detective Marconi’s vehicle, approached his driver-side window and shot him twice in the head.

“I think the uniform was the target, and the first person who happened along was the person that he targeted,” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said at a news conference held before Mr. McKane’s arrest.

The chief said the suspect had entered the department’s headquarters several hours before the attack and spoken briefly to a clerk. No officers were inside the building’s lobby at the time.

Mr. McKane, 31, of San Antonio, was arrested Monday afternoon while riding in a car with a woman and child. Their relationship to the suspected gunman is unclear.

The fatal shooting of Detecive Marconi was one of four similar attacks against police officers in three states on Sunday. The three other officers survived their attacks.

The shootings are not believed to be related, but the coincidence was jarring for law enforcement officers across the country.

“The number of officers shot and killed in ambush attacks this year now totals 20, which is the highest total since 1995,” said Craig W. Floyd, president of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. “Clearly, our officers are facing horrendous and growing risks while serving and protecting our communities.”

The San Antonio shooting brought to 127 the number of line-of-duty deaths this year, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Sixty of the deaths reported this year involved firearms, a 67 percent increase over the same time last year.

A 46-year-old sergeant with the St. Louis Police Department was shot twice in the face during a drive-by shooting Sunday night as he sat in his marked police SUV at a red light. St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said investigators believe the gunman, whom they identified as 19-year-old George Bush III, was responsible for a series of crimes in the area and fired at the sergeant out of paranoia.

Bush was killed in a shootout with officers when he bailed out of a vehicle and fired on a police vehicle hours after the attack.

In Sanibel, Florida, an officer was injured in a drive-by shooting during a traffic stop Sunday night. Officer Jarred Ciccone was filling out paperwork when shots were fired from a passing vehicle. Police arrested Jon Webster Hay, 49, a licensed real estate broker, in connection with the shooting.

In a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, an officer was shot in the hand and a teenager was killed during an altercation that began with a traffic stop.

A statement from the Kansas City Police Department indicates a passenger ran from a vehicle that police officers had pulled over. The officers pursued the passenger, identified as 18-year-old Jacob C. Stevens, and a struggle ensued as they tried to arrest him. Kansas City police said Stevens was shot after he pulled out a handgun.