Shocking moment rookie cop opens fire on startled 17-year-old eating a burger with his girlfriend in McDonald’s parking lot: San Antonio officer is fired and teen is hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds
- James Brennand, who served as a cop in San Antonio, Texas, was fired after he shot a teenager who was sitting in his car eating
- Brennand thought 17-year-old Erik Cantu was in a car that had evaded police the night before, and ordered him to get out
- Bodycam footage shows the moment Cantu reversed and Brennand pulled out his gun and shot him
- Cantu suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to hospital – his condition remains unclear
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A rookie cop was fired on Wednesday after he shot a teenager eating a cheeseburger in a McDonald’s parking lot.
Erik Cantu, 17, remains in hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and his condition is unclear.
James Brennand, a probationary police officer who served on the San Antonio force for only seven months, was dismissed after being placed on administrative duty.
Brennand was called to the McDonald’s on Sunday for a reported disturbance before he noticed Cantu’s car outside the restaurant.
The officer thought the car was the same one that evaded him the night before when he attempted to stop the vehicle as the registered license plate didn’t match the vehicle.
Brennand approached Cantu’s maroon car and called for cover, but quickly tried to take matters into his own hands and opened the car door.
Police have not confirmed whether Cantu’s car was stolen.
He found a terrified Cantu inside the car along with a female passenger and ordered him to ‘get out of the car,’ but the frightened teen attempted to reverse the car
When Cantu reversed, the door of the vehicle reportedly hit Brennand, and the cop then draws his gun and immediately starts firing on the teen couple
Brennand shoots the drivers side window repeatedly and shouts ‘shots fired’ into his radio, and Cantu attempts to drive away
He surprised Cantu who was eating a cheeseburger next to a 17-year-old female passenger, and demanded the teen get out of the car.
As Cantu questioned the officer’s orders, he attempted to put the car in reverse and the door catches Brennand.
Brennand, who has not yet been charged with a crime, quickly opened fire and shot into the driver’s side of the vehicle as Cantu reversed, and the bodycam footage caught the cop shouting ‘shots fired!’ into his radio.
Cantu pulled out of the parking spot and tried to drive away, but Brennand continued shooting into the back of the vehicle.
The teens were then found outside the vehicle a block away from the shooting, and Cantu suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to University Hospital.
Even as Cantu drove away, Brennand keeps shooting into the vehicle
The police report stated Brennand performed CPR on Cantu when he caught up, and the female passenger in the car was uninjured.
Cantu was even charged by proxy with evading detention in a vehicle and assault on an officer.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said the investigation could take up to a year, and ‘the DA’s Office will also review all evidence related to the charges against Erik Cantu once we have received it.’
Brennand is no stranger to shooting – he placed fourth in the ‘firearms’ category in his police cadet class in 2021, according to a Facebook post.