SAN ANTONIO – A major spike in crime on the city's Eastside has forced police, City Council members, and the community to spring into action. Community leaders are hoping to work together to create change.
"I've been here all my life and I've never seen such violence," said Rose Hill who grew up on the East Side.
Now Hill is the president of Government Hill's Neighborhood Association.
"It's gang violence. It's domestic violence. It's drugs. It's prostitution. It's a little bit of everything," she said.
"Since Jan. 1, there have been 28 murders in San Antonio. Eight of them were on the East Side, and two of those happened just last week. One happened at a car wash on Rigsby last Monday, and the other when a burned body was found Thursday on Yucca.
"Every time we think it's calmed down it just spikes back up. I'm third generation East Side," said Brian Dillard, the Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Association’s vice president.
He said gang violence is a big problem.
"These are different gangs. These are totally unorganized gangs. These are a lot of younger kids. I think it's folks hot headed and they have a gun so they're going to pull it out and do whatever they want," he said.
The answer to that, he believes, is education.
"A lot of kids lack mentorship. They lack guidance. They lack adults in the home. They have adults in the home, but typically it's a single-parent household and we all know that from statistics," he said. "One of the ways we need to address that is getting serious about our education system."
He and Hill both agree that another focus should be residents working to help police.
"We cannot expect the police department to do it all. We all have to come together," Hill said. "We need to keep our eyes peeled and watch out for each other. Be prepared. Take immediate action. If you see a crime committed, call 911. That's the best thing to do. Don't take matters into your own hands."
Neighborhood leaders have met with Chief William McManus and other police officers twice since East Side crime started to spike. A main concern brought up by community members was a lack of patrol in their areas. After the very first meeting, McManus put more police patrolling the East Side.
To continue positive communication like that, Dillard thinks every East Side community needs a neighborhood association.
"I feel that's a strategic manner of addressing these issues in a long term sustainable way," he said.
It's something City Councilman Alan Warrick has also recommended; Hill supports the idea too.
"Unite neighborhoods, pastors, businesses, everybody, so that we can work together so that we can make our community a better and safer place," she said.