SAN ANTONIO – A memorial honoring the 53 migrants who were killed in a 2022 smuggling tragedy along Quintana Road was vandalized, according to San Antonio police.
Officers were called to the scene Saturday morning after the volunteers who helped upkeep the area noticed the destruction.
Volunteer Angie Olivera said she was heartbroken as she watched detectives investigate the scene, and other volunteers quickly worked to restore the crosses they could.
“We’ve worked so hard to keep up with it,” Olivera said. “Then just for somebody to come and tear it down like if a tornado came.”
The memorial consisted of 53 crosses honoring the lives of the 53 migrants found dead in a tractor-trailer on Quintana Road in June 2022.
Investigators said they are searching for answers from anyone who may have witnessed others vandalizing the Quintana Road memorial between 11 p.m. on Friday and 8:45 a.m. on Saturday.
“We’re asking anyone who has information about what happened here last night and the destruction of this memorial to come forward,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “As investigators continue to work on this incident, they are asking for anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward.”
The vandalism comes just days after two guilty verdicts were reached in the 2022 Quintana Road smuggling tragedy trial.
“As far as I’m concerned, this appears to be a hate crime,” Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said. “I have no problem saying that if and when the perpetrators are caught, we intend to charge that individual or individuals with a hate crime.”
Gonzales added they could theoretically charge someone with 53 counts of criminal mischief.
>> TIMELINE: Developments in 2022 San Antonio migrant smuggling tragedy that left 53 dead
According to a Saturday preliminary report from SAPD, they expect to charge the person responsible for criminal mischief for property damage between $2,500 and $30,000.
In addition to the more than 50 crosses destroyed, possibly from Friday night to Saturday morning, investigators and volunteers reported that one cross was recently stolen from the memorial. An investigator told KSAT that the stolen cross would be investigated as theft.
Volunteers, along with Nirenberg, Gonzales, and Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4), worked to rebuild the few crosses they could immediately fix after the police were done with the active scene.
“We’ve already had a lot of outpouring of support from the community saying ‘count me in,’” Rocha Garcia said. “We’re asking for volunteers to come and help us put up the crosses so that they could see that we will not be allowing this type of hate in San Antonio, not in a compassionate city.”
Though there isn’t much near the memorial site besides train tracks, the act of violence is prompting Rocha Garcia and Nirenberg to work on installing cameras in the area as a next step.
“We’ll be working together with SAPD and trying to figure out what we can do with cameras,” Rocha Garcia said.
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