Francisco Anthony Alcaraz Jr., the 32-year-old area resident who died Tuesday in a shootout with police, “expired from multiple gunshot wounds,” the Sheriff’s Office announced Friday. “Because it is still an active investigation, many details are not yet available for release,” the department said in a press statement. “Once a final review of the autopsy is complete, the Sheriff’s Office will release additional information.”
Deputies had attempted to arrest Alcaraz at approximately 12:45 p.m. at an apartment complex off Turnpike Road when he allegedly opened fire on them. The deputies shot back, and soon after a SWAT team surrounded the residence. Authorities tried to make contact with Alcaraz for approximately three hours as neighbors were evacuated and San Marcos High School was put on lockdown. With no response, police sent a remote-controlled robot into the residence and determined he’d been killed.
According to court records, Alcaraz was a longtime gang member with multiple felony convictions for assault and drugs and weapons possession. He went by the street name “Stranger” and was indicted in 2008 during a countywide crackdown on organized crime called “Gator Roll.”