SAN ANTONIO — Authorities in San Antonio said a man assaulted his wife, fatally shot a neighbor and set his house on fire before dying in a hail of gunfire with police.

Police Chief William McManus said the man “severely” beat his wife Tuesday afternoon, then opened fire on her as she ran away. The woman, who suffered severe facial injuries in the assault, wasn’t struck by gunfire, but a neighbor was, the police chief said.

McManus said the shooter set fire to his home shortly before officers arrived. Then, according to the police chief, the man “took a prone position” by lying down on his porch and opened fire with a rifle. It wasn’t clear who he was firing at, but the SWAT team returned fire. McManus said the man was fatally shot, though authorities don’t know whether he shot himself or was struck by the officers’ gunfire.

 

Woman charged in infant’s death

DALLAS — A Texas woman has been charged with capital murder in the death of her infant daughter whose body was found in a flower pot at Dallas-area cemetery in last month.

Police say 18-year-old Jazmin Lopez was arrested Tuesday after coming forward as the child’s mother in March. She is being held in the Denton County Jail northwest of Dallas on a $500,000 bond.

An arrest affidavit says Lopez initially told police she gave birth to the child in her Dallas home in February, passed out after the delivery and awoke to find the girl not breathing.

The affidavit says Lopez later changed her story, saying she covered the girl’s mouth with a shirt to keep her quiet and later realized the baby had died.

Jail records did not list an attorney for Lopez Wednesday.

 

Dallas forecast leads to cancellations at airport

DALLAS — American and Southwest Airlines are canceling hundreds of flights in the Dallas-Fort Worth area because of a forecast of damaging weather.

The weather forecast calls for a chance of large hail, damaging winds and perhaps even tornadoes.

American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein said the airline will reduce operations at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Wednesday evening, resulting in about 100 canceled flights.

Feinstein says there will be no arrivals and only two departures after 9 p.m., and that American is looking for hangar space to protect as many planes as it can.

Southwest spokesman Dan Landson says the airline will stop operations at Dallas Love Field from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., canceling about 100 flights.

 

ICE arresting, deporting fewer people due to surge

MCALLEN — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it’s arresting and deporting fewer immigrants because the agency is devoting more resources to the surging numbers of migrant families crossing the southern border.

Acting Director Matthew Albence said Wednesday that ICE has made 14 percent fewer criminal arrests and 10 percent fewer removals of immigrants since October compared to the same period a year earlier.

Albence blamed the reassignment of hundreds of ICE staff to the U.S.-Mexico border, where the Border Patrol is apprehending thousands of families weekly. Many of them are parents and children fleeing Central America and seeking asylum.

Albence and acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan visited the border city of McAllen, Texas, on Wednesday to highlight what they called a humanitarian crisis.