SAN ANTONIO — After a recent drive-by shooting that left three men injured, some residents from one east side neighborhood are calling for an end to gun violence.
On Sunday, Investigators said someone drove up to a group of people off North Mittman Street and fired off several shots, striking an 18-year-old, 30-year-old and 69-year-old.
Police said the 69-year-old was sitting inside his senior living apartment complex when he was struck by a stray bullet in the buttock.
Many people who lived at that complex or neighboring complexes expressed their concerns over safety but were too afraid to speak on record. Only one woman was willing to allow her voice to be recorded for the story but is remaining anonymous.
“We need to stop the violence and need a voice,” she said.
She said she has grandchildren who she said she keeps a close eye out for anytime they are outside.
“There’s too many guns, you know the young people,” she said.
She pointed out several bullet holes across the neighborhood. When asked how often she sees police patrolling the neighborhood, she said she does not see them at all.
“And I feel safe when the police are around, I really do,” she said.
According to a community crime map, there have been at least five reported aggravated assaults just within the past month in the Harvard Place/East Lawn neighborhood.
Since the start of the year, the map shows ten reports.
“It’s a problem that keeps me up at night because I wonder what is it going to take?” District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said.
McKee-Rodriguez said the city is constantly working on programs to bring down gun violence.
“We’ve invested in more police officers, we’ve invested in street lighting, we’ve invested in violence prevention and organizations that aim to address root causes of crime,” McKee-Rodriguez said. “But at the end of the day I think people really need to have a conversation with their sons, their uncles, their brothers, their cousins.”
The woman we spoke with said she agrees with the councilman.
“It starts with the parents, you know we need to get it together, talk with our kids and stuff,” she said.
McKee-Rodriguez said he is committed to helping solve the complex issue. He does encourage residents to continue speaking out about it.
“There are a lot of people in my community and my city that are fearful of retaliation and that’s such a valid feeling,” McKee-Rodriguez said. “The challenge there is that we can’t do anything if we don’t have the information.”