West Side community acknowledges high crime, is reluctant to call in suspicious activity

Leaders depend on calls to try to solve issues

SAN ANTONIO – Homeowners in a West Side community say their community has high crime, but they are reluctant to get involved in calling in suspicious activity to avoid problems.

On Tuesday, police were busy responding to three incidents happening almost at the same time. Police said a person in a mask drove up in a green Lincoln sedan and attacked a pedestrian with a machete near Westfield and West Military Drive. About a three-minute drive away, police responded to a cutting at a VIA bus stop along U.S. Highway 90. And about 6 miles away, near Cupples and Castroville roads, a man fatally shot another man at a convenience store.

All three attackers are still on the run.

Linda Gonzales, who lives near Westfield, said her neighborhood is plagued by a lot of suspicious activity.

“(Police) need to come around more often because there's a lot of things going on around here. They really need to do something about all this,” she said.

She said neighbors look out for each other, and she calls police to make reports.

Several of Gonzales’ neighbors said they try not to get involved in the suspicious activity and don’t call police because they want to avoid problems.

District 6 Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda said she’s familiar with the area of the district.

“There are some spots that have been neglected really, and, you know … they're a little higher crime areas. I am trying to focus and make sure that we can bring that up to the level of other parts of the city that are not as high crime,” she said.

But she can only do that if people pick up the phone to report crime or ask for help from the city. 

While all three incident Tuesday happened in three different districts that are close together, Cabello Havrda said she knows crime knows no boundaries.

“There's no boundaries in real life. We’re all neighbors. We are all the same community,” Cabello Havrda said.

You are asked to call Crime Stoppers if you have information about a crime at 210-224-7867.


About the Author:

Patty Santos joined the KSAT 12 News team in July 2017. She has a proven track record of reporting on hard-hitting news that affects the community.