Jose David Hernandez Galo and the 2025 San Antonio Workplace Shooting
Identification of the Gunman
The person sometimes identified as “Galo Jose Hernandez” was named by authorities and news organizations as Jose David Hernandez Galo, or more briefly as Jose Hernandez Galo. He was a 21-year-old employee of a landscape-supply business on the Northeast Side of San Antonio, Texas. On November 8, 2025, Hernandez Galo carried out a workplace shooting that killed three of his coworkers before he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The attack occurred at a business in the 4400 block of Stahl Road. Police described the location as a landscape-supply company where Hernandez Galo and all three victims worked. Investigators said the violence was not a random attack, but authorities had not publicly established a motive or explained why the three employees were targeted.
The Morning of November 8, 2025
San Antonio police received the shooting report at approximately 7:43 a.m. on Saturday, November 8, 2025. Witnesses told investigators that Hernandez Galo arrived at the workplace and began firing at other employees. The sudden gunfire caused workers to scatter in different directions, seeking shelter inside neighboring properties and attempting to escape the business grounds.
One surviving employee later described seeing Hernandez Galo approaching with a gun and chasing people as workers ran for their lives. According to that account, several employees pleaded with the gunman and were not shot. The witness escaped with another coworker and sought refuge at a nearby home. These accounts indicated that Hernandez Galo had opportunities to shoot additional people but did not fire at every employee he encountered.
Three workers were struck and killed during the attack. They were pronounced dead at the scene. No additional wounded victims were reported after officers completed their initial response, although the rapidly unfolding situation caused confusion during the first hours of the investigation.
The Victims
- Selvin Chacon, 48: Killed on November 8, 2025, at the landscape-supply business in the 4400 block of Stahl Road in San Antonio, Texas. Coworkers reportedly knew him by the name Danilo. A surviving employee said Chacon warned him to call the police after the shooting began.
- Sergio Chacon, 38: Killed on November 8, 2025, at the Stahl Road workplace in San Antonio. Sergio and Selvin Chacon were brothers. Reports concerning a fundraiser for their relatives stated that their deaths left three young children without their fathers.
- Karen Bautista, 24: Killed on November 8, 2025, at the same landscape-supply business. She was the third employee fatally shot during Hernandez Galo’s attack.
Police Response and Search for the Gunman
Officers arrived shortly after the first emergency calls and secured the immediate crime scene. Because Hernandez Galo’s location was initially unknown, police treated the situation as an active and continuing danger. Authorities established a perimeter around the business and warned residents and motorists to avoid the area.
The search involved San Antonio police officers, SWAT personnel, negotiators and members of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Specialized equipment and aerial drones were used as officers searched the property and surrounding area. Nearby residents were advised to remain indoors while authorities attempted to determine whether Hernandez Galo was still armed and preparing to attack anyone else.
Police initially described the wanted man as being in his early twenties, with a slim build and a goatee, and wearing dark clothing. Public warnings concerning the search were issued during the morning. At approximately noon, police announced that the suspect had been located and that there was no longer a threat to the public.
Death of Hernandez Galo
After the hours-long search, officers found Hernandez Galo suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities and the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the wound was self-inflicted. Hernandez Galo died without being arrested, questioned or brought to trial for the three killings.
Because the gunman died at the scene, investigators were unable to obtain his explanation for the attack. Police continued interviewing witnesses, examining evidence and reconstructing his actions. Officials did not immediately disclose the type of firearm used, the total number of shots fired or how Hernandez Galo obtained the weapon.
Investigation and Unanswered Motive
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the shooting was not random, indicating that Hernandez Galo had some connection to the people and workplace involved. All three victims were his coworkers, and investigators found no indication that he had entered an unfamiliar business merely to attack strangers.
Nevertheless, authorities did not publicly identify a workplace dispute, personal conflict or other specific event that triggered the killings. No verified manifesto, written explanation or recorded statement from Hernandez Galo was reported. Claims about his precise motive would therefore be speculative unless additional evidence is released by investigators.
The available witness accounts showed that Hernandez Galo moved through the workplace while employees fled and that he appeared to make decisions about whom he would shoot. Some workers escaped, while others were reportedly spared after pleading with him. The reasons for those decisions, and whether the three victims were deliberately selected in advance, remained unclear.
Background Information
Federal immigration authorities later identified the gunman by the fuller name Jose David Hernandez Galo and said he was originally from Honduras. According to a statement issued by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he entered the United States with relatives as a minor in April 2019. This background information was released after the shooting but did not establish a motive for the murders.
Officials did not report any prior arrest, criminal conviction or documented history of mass violence that would have publicly identified Hernandez Galo as an imminent threat before November 8, 2025. The most important unresolved issue remained what caused a young employee to arrive at his workplace with a firearm and begin shooting the people who worked beside him.
Impact on the Victims’ Families and Coworkers
The attack devastated the families of Selvin Chacon, Sergio Chacon and Karen Bautista. The deaths of the Chacon brothers were especially painful for relatives who lost two members of the same family during a single morning. A fundraiser created by a coworker stated that the brothers left behind three young children and that financial assistance would be directed to relatives caring for them.
Surviving employees were forced to cope with witnessing the killings, fleeing under gunfire and wondering whether the attacker was still pursuing them. Some had hidden in neighboring buildings or escaped across nearby properties. The workplace where they had expected to begin an ordinary Saturday shift became the scene of a triple homicide and an extensive armed-police response.
Conclusion
The November 8, 2025, San Antonio workplace shooting ended with four people dead: Selvin Chacon, Sergio Chacon, Karen Bautista and gunman Jose David Hernandez Galo. The three victims were killed at the landscape-supply business where they worked, while Hernandez Galo died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound following the police search.
Although police determined that the attack was connected to the workplace and was not random, the gunman’s death left investigators without the opportunity to question him. The publicly available evidence established what Hernandez Galo did, where the killings occurred and who lost their lives, but it did not provide a definitive explanation for why he committed the murders.
