SAN ANTONIO — Fiesta celebration at Historic Market Square was interrupted by deadly gunfire late Saturday night when two young men started shooting at each other and were eventually killed, San Antonio police officials say.
Police Chief William McManus said officers working near the stage intervened when they heard the shots ring out in the area of South Santa Rosa and Dolorosa.
McManus initially said that six bystanders were hurt, but clarified later in a post on X that four were injured; of those, two were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
"This was an isolated incident between two individuals who had some sort of beef and they decided to take it to Market Square among all those people," he added in a Monday update posted to Facebook. "This was not any kind of a mass event."
The two men were later identified as 20-year-old Albert Cisneros Jr. and 18-year-old Mikey Valdez.
What happened?
Just after midnight, McManus said, officers working the stage at the popular Fiesta de los Reyes event heard shots ring out. Officers with the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) responded, and officials say two fired at Valdez after he was seen saw him firing at Cisneror Jr.; Valdez was killed at the scene.
Cisneros Jr. died after being taken to a local hospital.
Two guns were recovered by police at the scene. The two officers were Sgt. Joseph Fech, a 13-year SAPD veteran, and Zachary Krok, who has been on the force for five years.
The other victims who were hurt range from 23 to 36 years old, but none have been identified. Two of them had gunshot wounds and were taken to a hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries; it remains unclear whose gunfire hurt the two bystanders who suffered the more serious injuries.
The shooting unfolded at a popular part of town that's typically crowded during the Fiesta season—and just a few blocks south of where Fiesta Flambeau wrapped up Saturday night.
Multiple internal SAPD investigations into the shooting are ongoing. A similar incident happened last year, when a 25-year-old man was shot in Historic Market Square during Fiesta.
Fiesta De Los Reyes organizers ended Sunday's festivities earlier than scheduled and later said it was "working with the City of San Antonio and the Fiesta Commission to enhance security measures at our event." They didn't provide specifics.
Safety concerns
One Market Square shop keeper who didn't want to be identified shared her concerns about lax security during Fiesta de los Reyes, saying requests for changes were made long before the party started this year after 2023's shooting.
"They were only putting three of the cameras in different places," she said. "I said, 'Why don't they put one where the (2023) shooting was?' They said, well, they don't want to pay for it."
Other vendors KENS 5 spoke to on Sunday said it might be time to start charging admission to what's always been one of Fiesta's biggest free events. Others wondered if visitors shouldn't be searched before entering—something McManus on Monday promised visitors can expect next year at the event.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Conservation Society over the weekend shared a Facebook photo of a contingent of 120 officers – which the society paid for – who helped safeguard the popular Night in Old San Antonio event at La Villita. Officials with the Conservation Society said the extra security is essential to look over a party that takes place in a confined space and typically features lots of drinking.
Not a stranger to the law
Less than three weeks before he allegedly opened fire at Market Square, Valdez was taken into custody by police for allegedly targeting shopping center parking lots at The Rim and La Cantera. Officials called him a known burglar and accused him of breaking into cars at the popular shopping areas.
He was released on bond the next day, April 11, according to online court records. Sixteen days later, he would bring his firearm into Market Square.
Leaders of the local police union, meanwhile, say the release of violent offenders has exacerbated law enforcement's challenge in patrolling large Fiesta events.
"We have always been short officers during Fiesta and that has been an ongoing challenge for decades," said Danny Diaz, president of the San Antonio Police Officers Association. "The difference now is that we have individuals that have been arrested for weapons charges, burglary, theft of vehicle and other violent crimes, but they bond our or cases are dismissed same day--there are no repercussions for their actions.
"These individuals, like the shooter from Market Square, should be in jail and not running around Fiesta events putting the citizens of San Antonio and police officers in danger."
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