A 78-year-old man was fatally stabbed Tuesday morning in a North Side home, prompting a murder investigation, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.

“The victim lived here by himself,” McManus said. Authorities have not confirmed the victim’s identity publicly, pending the medical examiner’s assessment.

Police responded to the home shortly before 11 a.m. after a 911 call from the victim’s housekeeper, who reported that a family member had assaulted her employer and fled the scene. She told dispatchers there was blood around the victim and that she was unable to stop the bleeding.

Officers arrived to find the victim in the garage with multiple stab wounds. He was treated by EMS and loaded into an ambulance, where he was pronounced dead.

The suspect, described only as a man in his 40s with a familial connection to the victim, fled the scene, traveling west on I-10, and was later detained in Kimble County, according to SAPD.

“There was an altercation or argument of some sort. The suspect attacked the victim, and he is now deceased. The suspect is now in custody,” McManus said during a news briefing.

McManus said the suspect is not from Texas. No motive has been released. Police said there is no ongoing threat to the community. The investigation is ongoing.

Although the victim has not been identified by authorities, Bexar County tax records indicate the property belongs to Ron Acosta, founder of the San Antonio-based Las Palapas restaurant chain. His full name is Edward R. Acosta, and the home is registered under that name.

Acosta founded Las Palapas in 1981 on Blanco Road near Churchill High School. Known for its tacos and Tex-Mex offerings, the restaurant expanded to multiple locations across San Antonio and to cities along the Interstate 35 corridor.

The Acosta family owned the chain of restaurants until Wayne Detmar, a franchise owner, bought majority interest in 2020. Las Palapas has locations in New Braunfels, Austin, Boerne, College Station and Keller in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

This is a developing story.

Reporter Ken Rodriguez contributed to this story.