LCPD: Off-duty security guard shot girlfriend, lied to investigators

Police officers arrested an off-duty security guard accused of shooting his girlfriend Tuesday evening.

Police charged Israel Salas, 28, of the 1100 block of east Boutz Road, with one count of aggravated battery against a household member causing great bodily harm.

At about 9 p.m. Tuesday, February 12, 2019, police officers were dispatched to investigate a report that a person has been shot in an apartment at 1101 E. Boutz Rd.

Officers arrived to find a 24-year-old woman suffering from a gunshot wound to her shoulder. The woman was initially transported to a local hospital and then to University Medical Center of El Paso. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, police said.

Investigators learned Salas, a security guard, was home with his girlfriend Tuesday evening. Salas allegedly told police he unholstered the 9mm handgun from his utility belt and placed it on the kitchen counter when it somehow discharged, striking his girlfriend.

In another interview with investigators, Salas allegedly changed his story and indicated he ejected the gun’s magazine, pointed the firearm at his girlfriend and pulled the trigger. Salad allegedly told investigators he did not clear the chamber for a live round before pulling the trigger.

Salas was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center early Wednesday morning. He was released shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday on a $2,000 unsecured bond.