A car burglary call on San Antonio's northwest side turned into gunfire Friday when a suspect fired a weapon toward an unmarked Texas Department of Public Safety trooper, according to police. No injuries were reported, and the shooting pulled a swarm of law enforcement to a hotel in the area as the investigation got underway.
San Antonio police say they responded to a vehicle burglary report in a parking lot on the 4300 block of Spectrum 1, according to KENS 5. A DPS trooper began following the vehicle connected to the reported burglary, and at some point the suspect fired toward the unmarked trooper, per SAPD.
Multiple Agencies Descend on Northwest Side Hotel
Authorities said law enforcement agencies converged on a northwest-side hotel after the shooting, and multiple personnel were seen near a Homewood Suites location as the response unfolded. SAPD reported no injuries from the gunfire, and officials said no arrests had been made as the search for the suspect continued. The station's report described the investigation as ongoing and the story as developing Friday morning.
The Spectrum 1 shooting lands in a part of town that has already seen a steady stream of vehicle burglary complaints this year. San Antonio police responded to a Homewood Suites by Hilton in the Stone Oak area 13 times since August 8 for reports tied to vehicle break-ins and criminal mischief, according to KSAT. Guests there told the station that dozens of vehicles had been targeted, leaving windows shattered, with one guest estimating that about 18 cars had their windows broken over a single weekend. Police had not publicly identified any suspects in connection with those earlier break-ins, per the same report.
Pattern of Gunfire During Car Burglary Calls
Friday's shooting is not the first time a San Antonio car burglary call has escalated into gunfire this month. On October 9, officers were called to the area of Elkins Drive and Jamar Boulevard just after 5 a.m. for a reported aggravated assault involving shots fired, according to News 4 San Antonio. A 73-year-old man told police he saw two people checking cars as if they were about to burglarize the vehicles, and one of them allegedly fired at him and his vehicle, striking it. That investigation remained active with no arrests made, the outlet reported.
San Antonio has also seen gunfire break out during other police operations in recent days. In a report published October 26, FOX San Antonio said a search for a man wanted on a felony drug warrant on the city's West Side ended in a shootout with undercover officers, a crash and a foot chase. Police identified that suspect as 31-year-old Jacob Luna and said he opened fire on undercover officers after realizing he was being followed, prompting officers to return fire. Luna was taken to a hospital in critical condition, and police later said he was expected to survive; no officers, bystanders or people in other vehicles were injured during that gunfire or the crash, according to the outlet.
Beyond San Antonio, a Texas DPS trooper was wounded and a suspect was killed during a shootout that followed a traffic stop in San Angelo, according to the San Angelo Standard-Times. No further details connecting that case to Friday's San Antonio shooting have been reported. As of Friday, the investigation into the Spectrum 1 shooting remains ongoing, and police have not said whether the suspect was located or whether the case is tied to the earlier burglary reports at the nearby hotel.
