A 16-year-old boy was shot in the upper body at his mother's house on Bayhead Drive on San Antonio's East Side around 10 p.m. Friday and died shortly afterward, police said. As of Saturday, the shooter remained at large.
Nate's father, Louis Garcia, lives elsewhere and went to the scene after learning about the shooting, according to WOAI. Nate had died before his father arrived.
Officers responded to the 4900 block of Bayhead Drive just before 11 p.m. Friday and found Nate in the middle of the road, where he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to KSAT. Police said the shooter remained at large and the investigation was active.
No Answers on a Quiet Street
Police have not said what led to the shooting, KSAT reported. The station also reported that neighbors were struggling to make sense of the killing in their residential neighborhood.
The shooting occurred the night before Halloween. Neighbors told KSAT they were saddened and unsettled by the violence in their neighborhood.
A Family Remembering a 'Pure, Loving' Son
In the WOAI interview, Louis Garcia described his son as “such a pure, loving and beautiful soul.” He said he wants answers about Nate's death.
Nate's family is seeking answers and accepting donations to help cover funeral expenses.
Citywide Homicides Have Declined
Nate's death comes as San Antonio's homicide count has declined from a year earlier. SAPD reported 80 homicides citywide from January through September 2026, down from 126 during the same period in 2025, a 36.5 percent decrease, according to the San Antonio Report. Overall crime fell 6.1 percent over the same nine-month period.
SAPD Chief Jesse Salame has said the city could finish 2026 with fewer than 100 homicides for the first time since 2015. The Council on Criminal Justice found San Antonio's homicide rate was 12 percent below pre-pandemic levels during the first half of 2026. Those citywide figures provide broader context, but they do not answer who shot Nate Garcia.
Citywide Figures and Other Cases
Police records analyzed by KSAT show SAPD responded to 105 murders in 2025, down from 127 in 2024. Those are citywide totals; they do not establish a trend for Bayhead Drive or the East Side. A separate case offers context without establishing a connection to Nate's death: mySA reported that a teen died and multiple people, including a 5-year-old child, were injured in a July 4 shooting at the 1700 block of Lamar Street. Police said that incident's circumstances were still under investigation, mySA reported.
