A man whose car had been stolen tracked down his vehicle to a Texas shopping center lot - before shooting dead one of the alleged thieves and wounding the other. 

Gunfire erupted in the parking lot outside South Park Mall, San Antonio, just before 1pm Thursday after the man figured out where his stolen car was located. 

The owner of the stolen car had ordered the driver and his female companion out of the vehicle - and sat them down by the tire at gunpoint while they waited for police.

But the stolen car victim was hit with a bullet when one of the suspected thieves, a male, took a gun out from his waistband and opened fire.

The owner then returned fire - which killed the suspected robber. 

The woman, who was the passenger in the stolen vehicle, was also shot, and is in critical condition at the hospital. 

Police said that the owner of the stolen vehicle is in stable condition.  

No charges have been filed yet. 

The names of the people involved have not been released.  

'Certainly a case of self-defense, is what we have,' San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus said. 'We would prefer that they call the police before taking that into your own hands, but he did what he felt he needed to do.'