SAN ANTONIO, Texas – People who live near an East Side bar that was the backdrop for a deadly shooting Sunday night said they are fed up with the trouble in that area.
According to San Antonio police, three people were shot in the parking lot of Vibe Sports Bar, located in the 2600 block of Rigsby Avenue, after 10 p.m.
Two of them, a 14-year-old boy and 26-year-old man, died from their wounds.
The third victim was stable as he was taken to a hospital by ambulance, police said.
So far, they have not made any arrests.
“Everybody just took off running. There was nothing I could do, so I just sat there by the truck,” one man told KSAT 12 News Monday morning, asking to conceal his identity.
The man said he left the bar in a hurry once the shooting started.
He returned Monday morning to retrieve his truck, which had two tires flattened by the gunfire.
“After that, I said I won’t come back here no more,” he said.
Another car, meanwhile, sat abandoned in the bar’s parking lot, also with a flat tire, as well as bullet holes in the windshield and side panels.
Neighbors described the shooting as wild, with bullets flying everywhere.
“Our neighbors across the street experienced two shots through their window,” said Deanna McClure, who lives nearby.
No one in the neighborhood was hit by the gunfire, but McClure said her family took quick action to stay safe.
“Having to pull our children out of the bed to lay on the floor ‘til the shooting stops,” she said, describing the chaos that ensued inside her home.
Outside, she said, they later saw a man lying dead in the street.
“These incidents keep happening and they keep escalating,” she said. “And it’s, like, ‘What is going to come of it?’”
McClure said for months, she and other neighbors have been reporting the problems in the area near the bar to everyone from the business’ management to San Antonio police to the city of San Antonio.
However, she said so far, she has not seen anything being done to stem the trouble.
“Businesses should help neighborhoods, and I don’t see how people getting shot is helping the neighborhood,” McClure said.
Data from SAPD shows police have responded to numerous calls at the bar’s address since 2022.
Among them were more than a dozen calls for shootings and other gun-related incidents. There also were reports for disturbances, loud music, and fights.
KSAT 12 News sent messages Monday morning to the office of City Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, who represents that area of the city, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and the bar, itself, asking about any action being taken.
We have yet to hear from TABC and the bar.
McKee-Rodriguez’s office released the following statement:
Every shooting is tragic and disturbing. This one, down the street from my mother-in-laws home, is equally upsetting. We are engaged in efforts to prevent gun violence at the local level by supporting violent crime reduction programs, including the Office of Integrated Community Safety and StandUp SA.
Because the city cannot legislate gun use or reform, we are anxiously awaiting and advocating for our state legislators to share their plans to address gun violence for the upcoming legislative session, especially as bills may be filed as early as November. In addition, as families gather for dinner, I encourage everyone to engage in conversation about conflict resolution and the dangers of gun violence.
In an unrelated incident, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office had a report of a missing person in the area, about 12 hours prior to the shooting.
According to initial reports, Stacey Dramiga, 63, was last seen in the 2600 block of Rigsby Avenue Sunday morning.
Sheriff Javier Salazar held a news conference Monday afternoon to announce the discovery of a body that matched her description.
Salazar said the body was found in a wooded area along with Salado Creek Greenway near DaFoste Park. That is about three miles from the Rigsby location where Dramiga was said to have disappeared.
Salazar said the death is being handled as a homicide.
Anyone with information on that case is asked to call the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at 210-335-6000.