SAN ANTONIO – Sonia Rose, who was born and raised on the East Side, said although violence and crime has always been a problem, she remains hopeful things will start to change.
"I'm kind of tired of the broken promises of 'things are going to get better.' Years ago, say in the ‘90s, we had Mayor Henry Cisneros stay out here with us, and honestly nothing has changed," Rose said.
The gunfire on her very own street of Morningview is just a part of life.
"Unless we hear some screaming, we turn over and go to bed," Rose said.
The family’s car and truck are riddled with bullet holes. KSAT 12 tracked crime in the area and found that in the past three months, there have been two murders, five aggravated assaults, four felony weapon cases and 21 drug violations all in a 1-mile radius of Rose’s home.
Rose believes most of the violence, though, is brought on by rival neighborhoods.
"They’re not shooting each other out here. It's neighborhoods against neighborhoods," Rose said.
Rose said she'll continue to speak out against crime. She believes more people would do the same, but she says they’re scared — not just of retaliation but also of police.
Rose is hopeful police and residents will continue to work together to improve community relations and end the violence.
