SAN ANTONIO – Mary Adkisson, the 90-year-old mother of San Antonio mayoral candidate and former county commissioner Tommy Adkisson, has been identified as the victim of a late-night home invasion on the city's Southeast Side.
San Antonio police responded to her home on Golden Crown Street around 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
Adkisson spoke with reporters on Monday morning and said she woke up to the sound of someone kicking in her door, then firing three gunshots into the ceiling and wall of her home.
"After hearing gunshots right here by my bed, you know, (I thought) it would be just life or death," she said. "Absolutely horrible to be woken up by a man with a gun in your face."
Adkisson said the man demanded her purse, then ran out of the home using the same door in which he had entered.
Hours later, she was still rattled by the experience but not injured.
The thought of what happened reduced her son to tears.
"It's really hard to--," said Tommy Adkisson, momentarily unable to finish his sentence.
He then continued speaking with reporters, while wiping tears from his face.
"(The suspect) came in six guns blazing. I mean, he fired off three rounds," he said. "Thank God. I appreciate him not killing her or shooting her or hurting her."
Detectives spent several hours going through her home, looking for additional evidence.
Meanwhile, about a mile away, police investigated a shooting that may share a link with the home invasion.
According to a preliminary report, officers were called to a home on Cosgrove Street about 20 minutes after the home invasion.
Police said Alexander Gunther, 26, was shot in the arm by a stranger who had knocked on his door.
They said Gunther told them the man asked for someone who does not live in the home, then pushed his way inside and shot him.
Gunther was taken to a hospital for treatment of a non life-threatening wound.
The shooter, meanwhile, left with two cell phones that he took from the home.
At the scene of the shooting, officers said they found evidence -- the contents of purse that someone had dumped in the middle of the street -- that may be linked to the earlier home invasion.
Because Tommy Adkisson is running for mayor of San Antonio, we reached out to other candidates for their reaction to what happened to his mother.
Mayor Ivy Taylor:
"I was upset to hear about the home invasion of Mary Adkisson. I reached out to Tommy Adkisson to express that his family has my thoughts and prayers and personally offer any help they might need."
Leticia Van de Putte:
"First and foremost, I am relieved to hear that Mrs. Adkisson is safe and well after such a frightening experience. No one should ever have to lose sleep at night terrified about the safety of their loved ones. This incident highlights, once again, why the City must remain vigilant in ensuring neighborhood safety is its highest priority."