Authorities are investigating the death of a 15-year-old boy from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a North Side home Sunday. Accounts citing preliminary police information say a 38-year-old man believed to be the boy's stepfather was critically injured when the firearm discharged as he tried to secure it. The teen had recently run away from home and returned shortly before the shooting.
San Antonio police responded to the 500 block of Marchmont Lane, near Olmos Elementary School, at about 5 p.m. Sunday, according to KTSA News. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene, the San Antonio Express-News reported; the newspaper did not identify him because he was a minor. KSAT, citing preliminary police reports, reported that the 38-year-old man was wounded while attempting to secure the weapon.
The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to the newspaper's report. The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office will determine the teen's official cause and manner of death, the report said.
What Texas Law Says About Guns and Minors
Texas Penal Code Section 46.13 addresses making a loaded firearm accessible to a child under 17 through criminal negligence. According to an explanation from L&L Law Group, the offense is a Class C misdemeanor and can rise to a Class A misdemeanor if the weapon is discharged and causes death or serious injury. The firm says an arrest of a family member cannot occur before the seventh day when a child unintentionally and with criminal negligence causes the child's own injury or death by discharging the firearm, unless a court issues a warrant sooner.
Statewide context on child deaths
The incident falls within a broader category of preventable child deaths tracked by the state. Texas recorded 11,195 total child deaths during 2017-2019, and local teams reviewed 2,811 deaths, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The case echoes an accidental or possibly accidental shooting inside a San Antonio home that Hoodline has tracked before in San Antonio.
A Public Health Crisis Playing Out Locally
Firearm injuries remain the leading cause of death among U.S. children and teens ages 1 to 19, with child firearm death rates jumping 46 percent nationwide between 2019 and 2023, according to a 2026 analysis by America's Health Rankings using CDC data. Locally, 23 percent of surveyed Bexar County teenagers reported experiencing suicidal ideation, according to a youth health survey presented by Children at Risk in February 2025.
Firearm injuries and unintentional firearm deaths among children remain public-health concerns.
Local Resources and Crisis Response
Bexar County expanded its Specialized Multidisciplinary Alternate Response Team in late 2024 to offer 24/7 mental health crisis dispatch across suburban municipalities, using co-responder units of mental health officers, paramedics, and licensed clinicians, according to the San Antonio Report.
The Center for Health Care Services operates Bexar County's 24-hour Crisis and Substance Use Helpline at 210-223-7233 or 1-800-316-9241, and it maintains a 24/7 walk-in Crisis Care Center on North Frio Street in San Antonio. Anyone in crisis can also reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.
