SAN ANTONIO – A gunman opened fire on a pickup truck Monday afternoon in northeast Bexar County, critically wounding the driver and prompting a lockdown of two nearby schools.
Bexar County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Johnny Garcia said the shooting was called in around 3 p.m. at the intersection of Chipping and Neston drives.
Garcia said residents reported hearing rapid gunfire.
“My daughter was talking to me in the kitchen and I heard like pop pop pop pop pop. You know, it sounded like firecrackers to me,” said Teddi Padilla, a grandmother who lives near the area.
Padilla said she had no idea what was going on until she tried picking her grandsons up from school.
Montgomery Elementary and Harmony School of Innovation were placed under lockdown for about 45 minutes.
“We were there waiting for like an hour to get the kids,” Padilla said. “I give kudos to the school for doing that for the kids because you just never know.”
Despite being shot several times, the driver of the pickup truck drove a few blocks away near Montgomery and Glen Mont drives, where someone he knew drove him to a nearby hospital, Garcia said.
The victim was taken to SAMCC in critical condition, Garcia said.
“I have no idea what happened, why it happened, or who it happened to, but I will be saying prayers for the person who is in the hospital tonight because it is senseless,” Padilla said.
The shooter remains on the loose, Garcia said.
Padilla said it angers her to know this situation could have been avoided.
“If you have a beef with somebody, do what we used to do during old school, go up to them and beat their butts,” Padilla said. “You know you don’t have to shoot them. Why take another person’s life when you can just fist it out or talk it out? It just breaks my heart.”
Padilla said moving forward, she hopes her neighbors stay on high alert and encourages them not to hesitate to call police if something unusual is happening.
She also added that she hopes gun violence stops, but until it does, she will continue to protect her family at all costs.
“If you are fearing for your life, I understand that,” Padilla said. “I am a Texan through and through and I know how to shoot and I am not afraid to shoot nobody if I have to defend my home or my children, but to drive by like a coward and shoot somebody like that, that is ridiculous. It is cowardly.”
BCSO is encouraging anyone with any information that could lead to an arrest to contact them immediately.