Owners use Apple AirTag to track down truck thief and shoot him dead before cops arrive

The victims of a vehicle theft took matters into their own hands, tracked the suspected thief using an Apple AirTag and killed him, according to the police.

A family in San Antonio's Northside, Texas had their truck stolen from outside of their home in Braesview at around 1pm local time (7pm BST), on Wednesday.

Three members of the family then used an Apple AirTag to track the stolen truck and located it in a parking lot of a strip mall in San Antonio's Southside neighbourhood.

They then attempted to confront the suspect when they saw him inside their vehicle, police said.

The suspect, a man in his 30s, who has not been identified as of now, was then shot by one of the family members who believed that the suspect had pulled out a firearm, according to the police.

The vehicle was tagged with an Airtag so the owners were able to locate it (ksat.com/)

The man was later pronounced dead. Police believe that the truck owners had called the police to report the theft before the shooting but had then decided not to wait for the officers.

It is unclear if the shooter will face any criminal charges.

“Our suspect today stole the white truck you see back there. They stole it. Little did he know it was tagged with an Apple AirTag," San Antonio Police Department spokesperson Nick Soliz said.

He added that, when the owners located him, one of the family members attempted "to contact the suspect in the truck".

They said they thought the thief would fire at them, although it is unconfirmed that he was armed (ksat.com/)

Mr Soliz said that one of the family members told police he believed "a firearm may have been pulled by the suspect," prompting him to open fire.

But Mr Soliz couldn't confirm whether the suspected truck thief had any weapons on him or not.

"Right now, it's believed that only the victim of the stolen vehicle fired shots," Mr Soliz said. "He did strike the suspect in the stolen truck."

He advised people not to take matters into their own hands if their vehicle is stolen.

San Antonio Police Department spokesperson Nick Soliz urged people not to take matters into their own hands (ksat.com/)

"If you are to get your vehicle stolen, I know it's frustrating, but please do not take matters in your own hands like this," Mr Soliz said.

It is believed that the truck owners called the police to report the theft before the shooting but then chose not to wait for officers.

An investigation is ongoing and at this point, it is unclear if the shooter will face any criminal charges.