SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio is in the middle of an unexplained spike in violent crimes, particularly deadly shootings, according to police Chief William McManus.
"It's frustrating because there's no commonality in the vast majority of these shootings," he said. "We can't seem to put our finger on any specific reason why this is occurring."
Related Stories:
McManus said he has been in conversation with police chiefs of other major cities across the country as well as members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and so far no one has been able to pinpoint a reason for what appears to be a national trend.
Police department statistics show that there have been 86 homicides so far this year in San Antonio. There were 59 homicides during the same time period last year, and 94 in all of 2015.
Some of the latest cases occurred between Sunday night and early Monday morning. Six people were shot, two fatally.
Officers found three of the victims around 11 p.m Sunday inside a car that crashed at Tahoka Road and Arvil Avenue. One of them, an 18-year-old man, died from his wounds.
McManus said the three had gone to the location to meet with a man with whom they had made a drug deal online.
Around 3:30 a.m. Monday, officers were called to the intersection of Austin Highway and Walzem Road. They said they found two other men in a car with gunshot wounds.
A 19-year-old passenger died at the scene. The driver was taken to a hospital with what officers described as extremely critical injuries.
Investigators did not know the motive for the shooting.
McManus said "high risk behavior," such as the alleged drug deal in the Tahoka Road shooting, often is at the root of the violence. But, he said that's not always the case.