Key Takeaways
- A 58-year-old man in San Antonio faces charges of aggravated assault after a confrontation with his neighbor escalated from rock-throwing to a knife attack.
- The neighbor shot him in self-defense, corroborated by witnesses and video evidence.
- Mendez previously had incidents involving aggressive behavior, including a detention for using an axe in public.
- Texas law allows the use of deadly force in self-defense when facing imminent danger, which applied in this case.
- The husband demonstrated restraint by attempting to talk first and only used his firearm when Mendez attacked.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
SAN ANTONIO, TX — A 58-year-old San Antonio man has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a confrontation with his neighbor that escalated from rock-throwing earlier in the day to a knife being drawn that afternoon. The neighbor shot him once and told police he acted in self-defense.
As reported by KSAT 12, the incident happened on April 24 in the 300 block of East Young Avenue on the South Side. Joseph Eddie Mendez, 58, has been charged following his release from the hospital.
According to the arrest affidavit cited by KSAT, the trouble started that morning when the shooter’s wife called him at work to say Mendez was throwing rocks into their yard and yelling at her father. Later that afternoon, she called her husband again. This time Mendez was throwing rocks at her in the front yard.
When the husband returned home, he went next door to speak with Mendez. Mendez became upset, removed his shirt, and challenged the man to a fight. The affidavit states that Mendez then pulled a knife from his pocket and threw a punch. The husband drew his firearm and pointed it at Mendez. When Mendez reached back into his pocket while advancing on him, the husband fired a single round.
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Two witnesses corroborated the husband’s account. Cell phone video provided by the wife also matched what he told police. Body-worn camera footage from a responding officer showed a stainless-steel fixed-blade knife recovered from Mendez’s right pants pocket.
Mendez was transported to a hospital in critical condition. He has since recovered enough to be arrested and booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center. KSAT reports it remains unclear whether the husband will face any charges. According to the affidavit, investigators also found prior incidents involving Mendez, including a 2024 emergency detention and a March 2026 report of him holding an axe on a sidewalk.
The Takeaway
A knife at close range is a deadly weapon. The Tueller drill demonstrated decades ago that an attacker with a blade at 21 feet can close the distance and deliver a fatal stab faster than most people can draw and accurately fire a holstered firearm. By the time an attacker has produced a knife and is within striking range, the threat of imminent death or serious bodily harm is already there.
Texas Penal Code Section 9.32 allows the use of deadly force when a person reasonably believes such force is immediately necessary to protect themselves against another person’s use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force. The husband had a knife pulled on him, took a punch, and then watched the aggressor reach back into his pocket while continuing to advance. That fits the standard.
The cell phone video the wife was filming, the witness statements, and the body camera evidence all corroborated his account. The criminal justice system also appears to be treating this case the way the law intends. The original aggressor is the one facing the felony, not the husband who defended himself, his wife, and his father-in-law.
There is also a broader lesson here for anyone who finds themselves in a long-running dispute with a difficult neighbor. The husband’s response was measured. He went to talk first. He drew his firearm only when the aggressor had already produced a weapon and was advancing. That kind of restraint, paired with corroborating evidence from witnesses and video, is what keeps a lawful self-defense shooting from turning into a defendant in court.
