ABC-7 learns new details about EPPD officer-involved shooting

Services began Monday night for 22-year-old Erik Salas Sanchez, the man El Paso police shot and killed in the lower valley after they say he threatened officers.

ABC-7 spoke with Salas Sanchez’s family and friends outside of Mt. Carmel Funeral Home. They questioned the actions of police last Wednesday when Salas Sanchez was killed.

Salas Sanchez’s half brother told ABC-7 his older brother was always encouraging and positive. Even though Salas Sanchez was a Mexican citizen, his brother said he went to school in El Paso and was trained to be a truck driver.

El Paso police won’t answer some of ABC-7’s questions about the officer-involved shooting, such as what the metal object police claim Salas Sanchez was holding and would not drop when he threatened officers was, or how many times Salas Sanchez was shot after he was unsuccessfully tased.

Some viewers believe Salas Sanchez was shot outside the home he lived at with family. An El Paso Police Department spokesman said the location Salas Sanchez was shot is different than the location he was suspected of burglarizing on the 300 block of Jesuit Drive.

El Paso police and the Texas Rangers are still investigating the officer-involved shooting. The case will then be presented to District Attorney Jaime Esparza’s office before it’s presented to a grand jury.

Funeral services for Salas Sanchez continue Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Mt. Carmel Funeral Home at 1755 N. Zaragoza Road.