SAN ANTONIO – Following Sunday night’s gunfight that broke out between two groups of teens near Hemisfair Park, and killed an 80-year-old woman, police said there are no immediate plans to add patrol officers to the area.
“We’ve seen this happen too many times, the last time over at Market Square,” said San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
Sunday night’s gunfight near Hemisfair Park, which killed an 80-year-old woman who was caught in the crossfire, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus met with reporters on Monday morning.
We asked him if this incident, along with several others so far in 2024, would result in additional patrols.
Chief McManus said Sunday night was an isolated incident and more officers in the area wouldn’t have necessarily stopped it from happening.
“There’s a distinction between a hotspot and random acts occurring in a particular area. There’s nothing organized about these offenses that happened, if we had an organized group of individuals who were shooting it out on a regular basis, that changes the dynamic of it,” said Chief McManus.
As of Monday, the San Antonio Police Department said there are no plans to add additional patrol to the area, but local businesses tell us they’re scared that one single incident will drive their entire customer base away.
“It is concerning because Hemisfair has such a nice reputation of being a family-friendly area but to know that people are getting shot and dying around here, I really feel like it could hurt businesses,” said Clarise Clay-Benitez, Manager at Commonwealth Coffeehouse & Bakery.
People who frequent the area and Hemisfair Park during the day, said there is enough police presence when the sunlight is out.
“Especially downtown and here in the Hemisfair area, since park police headquarters is here, I usually see a lot of officers during the day,” said Cristy Leal, who frequents Henisfair Park.
Clay-Benitez said she feels it’s a different story at night.
“Honestly, all the incidents that happen, they all happen at night over here. We’ve also had our stuff broken into at night, and people have taken wine from our cellar and stuff like that because there is no patrol around here,” said Clay-Benitez.
As the investigation continues, Chief McManus said SAFE officers will determine if any additional police presence is needed.
If that’s the case, S.A.P.D. said those additional resources can be implemented immediately.
