Yu Masaki was told not to return to the Planet Fitness gym at Northeast Loop 410 and McCullough Avenue because of his “extremely aggressive advances” toward women there, police said.
One of those women was Margaret McCombs, 21, a gym patron who refused his overtures, declined to take a gift he offered her and finally was chased across a parking lot Sunday night when his infatuation turned deadly, police said.
A witness account in a detailed police report, including McCombs' own words before she lost consciousness after being shot multiple times, described a targeted attack on her and her friend Juan Carlos “J.C.” Escamilla, who joined the gym in 2009 and had taken a part-time job there less than two weeks ago.
Escamilla, 31, also a bank teller supervisor at Frost Bank, was killed. McCombs was in critical but stable condition at University Hospital.
Masaki, 27, fought arresting officers Monday and faces several charges, police said.
McCombs, Escamilla and at least two other gym employees were leaving Planet Fitness around 7:15 p.m. Sunday. As Escamilla walked McCombs to her vehicle, a man wearing dark clothing suddenly ran toward them, pointing a gun and firing it, one of the employees later told police.
The gunfire stopped and Escamilla, his hands against his chest, stumbled toward a co-worker, who had ducked behind a car, the report states. Masaki chased McCombs as she fled, the witness said, and he heard more gunfire as he tried to help Escamilla, then saw Masaki running back toward them, the report states.
The witness ran into a nearby electronics store, where he heard even more shots and saw a small black car speed away. Escamilla was on the ground, no longer responsive, shot in the face and upper torso. The witness ran to McCombs, who was bleeding from the neck. She told him that Yu, “the Japanese boy,” had shot her, according to the report and other police accounts.
Police swarmed around the shopping center and a manhunt was launched, Police Chief William McManus said. Officers set up surveillance Monday at Masaki's address at the Wood Hollow Apartment Homes in the 10300 block of Sahara Street.
About 10 minutes later, a sergeant at the scene said, officers spotted Masaki leaving his residence. He carried a television, and as officers drew their weapons and approached him, he dropped it and reached for a gun tucked in the waistband of his pants, McManus said.
There was a “short scuffle” and Masaki was arrested, the chief said. Masaki had what appeared to be a cut on his head and a bloody lip. It could have been much worse, McManus said, later adding that officers “did a great job in disarming him without having to use deadly force.”
Masaki said nothing as he was escorted out of police headquarters. He was charged with murder, attempted murder and attempted aggravated assault of a public servant. His bail was set at $300,000.
A public records search turned up no civil or criminal filings against Masaki.
Planet Fitness released a statement saying in part, “It is an unspeakable tragedy that has left the company with very heavy hearts. ... We offer the deepest sympathies to the family of Juan and Margaret.”
Nor has the shock worn off for the families of the two victims, said Escamilla's older brother and McCombs' mother.
Julio C. Escamilla, 36, said his brother was a devoted father to his son Julian, 10, and a man who would help anyone at any time.
“He was a loving brother, a loving son and a loving father,” his older brother said. “He'll be dearly missed.”
Juan Escamilla was the youngest of three siblings. Their parents, Pablo and Leticia Escamilla, are “holding up as best as they can,” Julio Escamilla said. “We saw his son today, so we're staying strong for him.”
Pablo Escamilla, an attorney, is a former Edgewood Independent School District trustee. His law firm represents San Antonio Independent School District, whose board held a moment of silence in sympathy at its meeting Monday night.
Escamilla family members said they had never met McCombs but were praying for her recovery.
McCombs' mother, who declined to give her name, said her daughter would survive but suffered “major injuries.”
“I want people to know what an incredibly wonderful daughter she is; how much she loves life,” McCombs' mother said.
She said she hadn't met but knew of a young man named “J.C.” who her daughter had mentioned as a friend and someone she had started seeing.
“What a gracious boy to take care of her like that,” her mother said. “To walk her out to her car.”
Poster Comment:
This is going to happen more and more. Asian males are not masculine, are rejected by white women, lose Asian females to white men, so this is their revenge.
After all, that Korean guy in Virginia murdered over 30 people -- and I'm postive that not only was he a virgin, he had never even kissed a girl.