US News

Texas man uses Apple AirTag to track down person who stole his truck, then kills him: police

Police in San Antonio, Texas said a man killed another man who allegedly stole his truck after tracking the thief with an Apple AirTag.

The San Antonio Police Department said the incident happened on Wednesday on the city’s southeast side at a shopping center, according to KHOU.

The truck’s owner used an Apple AirTag tracking device to see where the truck was located.

Officials said that they received a stolen vehicle report around 1 p.m. on Wednesday out of a home in north San Antonio.

Police said that the truck’s owner used the AirTag to track the vehicle nearly 20 miles from where it was stolen.

The alleged thief wasn’t aware that the vehicle was being tracked, officials said.

Authorities found several bullet casings and two cars with their windows shot out.

Officials are determining if the suspect will be charged in the fatal shooting.

Apple has previously stated that it works with law enforcement to track down AirTags used for criminal purposes.
Apple has previously stated that it works with law enforcement to track down AirTags used for criminal purposes. Getty Images

Officer Nick Soliz said that people shouldn’t take matters into their own hands if their car is stolen.

“If you are to get your vehicle stolen, please do not take matters into your own hands like this,” Soliz said. “It’s never safe as you can see by this incident.”

A spokesperson for Apple has previously pointed Fox News Digital to a recent update and stated that it works with law enforcement to track down AirTags used for criminal purposes.

“AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another person’s property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products. 

“Unwanted tracking has long been a societal problem, and we took this concern seriously in the design of AirTag. It’s why the Find My network is built with privacy in mind, uses end-to-end encryption, and why we innovated with the first-ever proactive system to alert you of unwanted tracking. We hope this starts an industry trend for others to also provide these sorts of proactive warnings in their products,” the spokesperson said.