MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The McAllen Police Department identified the man shot in an officer-involved shooting.
Jorge Pantoja was identified by the Department of Homeland Security and remains hospitalized.
According to McAllen Police, authorities responded at 1:21 a.m. on Saturday to a panic alarm at a Stripes convenience store at the 5700 block of S. 10th St.
The person who triggered the alarm said a man, identified as Pantoja, with a gun stole money from the store, threatened to kill him, and left in a black SUV.
At 1:29 a.m., police reported a black SUV parked at a Stripes in the 4600 block of S. 23rd St.
“The Reporting Officer parked his unit facing the black SUV and walked around the rear end of the back SUV as he approached the front doors of this Stripes establishment,” McAllen Police said.
According to investigators, Pantoja confronted Officer Miguel Ortega with a gun as he left the convenience store and raised his weapon.
That’s when police say Officer Ortega shot him.
Pantoja was later transported to a local hospital and remains under medical care.
Police said the Pantoja’s weapon appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun but may be a pellet-type weapon made to look like a semi-automatic pistol.
