SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar gave an update on a rash of recent shootings on the east side.
Sheriff Salazar held a news conference Monday afternoon at the Gold's Gym Parking Lot on FM 78 and Walzem Rd., where a BCSO mobile command post was recently established.
Salazar said that crime has been down for the most part, but there's been a recent "uptick" - especially in cases with guns involved.
He mentioned there are many active cases that they need the public's help with. He said many of the crimes happened during broad daylight.
KENS 5 asked Salazar if the crimes are related to drugs. He said yes and that often they are because of a "drug deal gone bad." Also, he added, gangs are a part of it, too.
"Obviously, anytime we see an uptick in crimes like this, gangs are one of the first things that we concentrate on," Sheriff Salazar said on Monday. "You know, you don't want to put all your eggs in that basket necessarily. But you do realize that this is an area that's known for that sort of thing and so we do look toward that."
You can watch the Sheriff's full news conference below.
Sheriff Salazar said he himself patrolled the area Sunday afternoon and received tips from some residents in person. He encouraged people to feel free to drop by and report crimes or issues they are concerned about. He said people can drop by and stay in their car if it makes them feel safer.
Salazar mentioned they implemented this mobile substation a few years ago when there was a similar rise in crime and saw positive results.
"During that time we managed to bring crime down 20% in this area due to that uptick in our activity in response," he added.
Rewards are available through CrimeStoppers. There are several ways to report a tip:
You can call (210) 224-STOP. Tips can also be reported anonymously through this link.
- People can also send tips to bcsotips@bexar.org
- (210) 335-6000 is the non-emergency number for BCSO.
He also gave an update on the latest coronavirus numbers for the inmates at the Bexar County jail:
- 392 inmates in total have tested positive.
- 296 are active positives.
- 13 are in recovery.
- 62 have made a full recovery.
- 1 inmate has died.
- 1,620 inmates have been tested in total.
- 1,016 have tested negative.
Salazar said most of the positive cases are asymptomatic and he called that "disturbing" because it could mean that coronavirus is spreading more in the community than people may think.