Two dead in hostage tragedy

Photo shows the family home of Gordon Aldan Castro following a 38-hours-long hostage incident. (KIMBERLY BAUTISTA)

The 38-hours-long hostage drama in San Antonio ended in a hail of bullets early yesterday morning that killed both the hostage-taker and hostage after law enforcement stormed the home where he was barricaded.

According to a Department of Public Safety statement, local and federal law enforcement agencies barged into the family residence of Gordon Aldan Castro in San Antonio between 2:30am and 3am yesterday, killing him. The hostage, Kisha King, who was Castro’s girlfriend, was also killed.

Castro allegedly fired several rounds at the police officers, causing them to return fire and enabling them to “neutralize the threat.” It is presumed that the statement means that that was when Castro was killed.

The statement added: “The suspect is confirmed to be deceased at this time. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the situation, the female is also confirmed to be deceased.” It was not immediately learned how King was killed.

An “all-clear” for the village of San Antonio was announced at approximately 4:30pm yesterday.

Following the incident, Attorney General Edward Manibusan tasked the Attorney General Investigative Division and Chief Prosecutor John Bradley to make an independent review of the circumstances surrounding the use of deadly force during the hostage situation.

“I have conferred with Department of Public Safety Commissioner Robert Guerrero and he has given his full support for an independent investigation. The review is a standard protocol for the use of deadly force by law enforcement,” said Manibusan.

“I seek the cooperation of law enforcement partners, including the FBI and DPS, as we undertake this important and sensitive inquiry. I wish to extend my condolences to the family of the deceased and ask for the community’s patience as our office conducts the independent review,” Manibusan added.

Family disappointed

Castro’s older sister and the main negotiator, Stephanie Castro Camacho, said she is disappointed with the way DPS and federal agencies handled her brother’s situation, but she understands that they were just doing their job. However, she believes there’s more information that DPS hasn’t disclosed to their family.

“They told me to negotiate with my brother and, in that negotiation, I was supposed to go over there because me and Gordon were in communication on the phone. I told him, ‘OK, I’m going to go over there so you can surrender.’ [But after that negotiation], the FBI and DPS didn’t allow me [to go] for my safety and I understand. But, I know my brother very well, I know he wouldn’t harm me. If they only gave me that chance, he would be living today,” she said.

Camacho added that their family was not made aware that law enforcers had “breached” the house when it happened and were only notified after.

“The last time I spoke to my brother was at 11:55pm yesterday and I was never told they were entering. I was told to call my brother before the SWAT team goes to my mom’s house so I did. They told me to keep trying but there was no answer, so I kept trying,” she said.

As for King, Camacho said that Castro did not harm her and had no intent to harm her and she made that clear during their conversations.

“I don’t think [Kisha] really was a hostage because we were talking and Kisha told the FBI that she’s not a victim and she’s not harmed. We were all communicating,” she said.

‘He wasn’t in his right mind’

Although Camacho and her family do not condone Castro’s actions, she wants the community to know that her brother was not a bad person, he was sick and scared and, at the end, was not in his right mind.

“My brother was scared. He wasn’t in the right mind, with all those police surrounding him. Like everyone else, I’d be scared too. I don’t call his sickness a medical condition. I’m not going to consider him mental. It’s a sickness. …He thinks like everyone else but, like everyone else, he has bad days. I want people to help anyone else who has the same condition as my brother so this kind of incident doesn’t happen again,” she said.

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres expressed condolences to the families involved, that law enforcement tried their best to resolve the situation.

“When things like this happen, our community needs to step back, and reflect on the situation and also stay away from the situation. Unfortunately, when it was happening, we had other spectators that were around the vicinity, and that kind of prevented some actions. …So as we go through this process, my biggest concern…is to have the community be aware, be alert. And when things like this happen again, stay away from events like this and seek safety,” he said.