Category: San Antonio News

A home just north of downtown was heavily damaged by a fire early Thursday morning, the San Antonio Fire Department said.

The fire was reported at about 7:40 a.m. at a home in the 900 block of Aganier Avenue, not far from West Woodlawn Avenue and Blanco Road.

Firefighters said when they arrived the residents of the home were already safely out. The fire was put out quickly and without incident.

Fire officials said the majority of the fire damage to the home is to the rear of the house. The house however was heavily damaged. Firefighters did say they were able to rescue the family dog.

The SAFD said the fire chief on-scene called for an extra fire engine since fires are known to quickly spread in older homes. According to the San Antonio Fire Department website, as many as 16 fire units answered the call.

The cause of the fire is not currently known. A fire investigation team has since been called to determine the exact cause.

There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire, firefighters said.

Rockville, Maryland-based Federal Realty Investment Trust owns 25.4 million square feet of commercial space, primarily retail, and 3,200 apartments in 106 properties across the U.S.

College presidents have been scrambling to address students’ rising mental health concerns and community college leaders in particular face an uphill battle.

Mission San Jose is one of five Spanish Colonial missions in San Antonio that make up the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas.

Mission San Jose is the largest of the five missions and, according to the National Park Service, it’s just over 300 years old.

The historic building is known as the queen of the missions and at its height, was home to roughly 350 Native Americans.

According to the NPS, portions of the mission underwent restoration in the 1920s and 30s and the mission was designated a historic site in 1941.

“Much of what is visible today at Mission San José was reconstructed by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s,” NPS officials said. “About 80% of the church is original.”

Here is a look back at the history of the mission via photos from the UTSA Library Special Digital Collection:

Two people were arrested after San Antonio police say a man and woman were tied up and assaulted for several hours last week.

Alfred Bela Jr., 38, and Juanita Rosa, 29, have each been charged with two counts of aggravated kidnapping, records with the Bexar County Jail show. A third suspect has not been arrested.

San Antonio police said the two victims called the police on Jan. 7 and told them they had been tied up and assaulted in an apartment.

A suspect accused the female victim of stealing money, police said, and Bela told the victim that she would be held for a $3,000 ransom.

The male victim told police that he could hear the woman “being assaulted but could not do anything and felt helpless,” as he was tied up and blindfolded, an arrest warrant affidavit states.

He also said Bela told them he was going to take them “to the country to die,” the affidavit states.

The male victim was able to break free from the restraints and tried to flee, but he was captured and beaten with a stick on the knee and ribs.

They were beaten throughout the night, investigators said, but they were eventually untied. They then sought help from police and identified their alleged attackers.

In an interview with police, Bela said he was “joking” about threatening to kill them in the country.

He was booked on Saturday on a $200,000 bond, and Rosa was booked Wednesday on a $170,000 bond, records show.

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Two people were taken to an area hospital, one in critical condition, following a vehicle crash on the city’s North Side early Thursday morning.

The crash occurred just before 5:30 a.m. on a ramp from eastbound Loop 410 to Northwest Military Highway, not far from Blanco Road.

According to Castle Hills police, the driver of a pickup truck lost control of his vehicle and ran up on a metal guardrail just before sliding along it into a concrete wall.

#TrafficAlert: Watch out. A crash at Loop 410 EB near NW Military Hwy. has a portion of the frontage road blocked off. Use caution.#KSATTraffic pic.twitter.com/EItLRYtViN

— KSAT Traffic (@ksat_traffic) January 13, 2022

Officials say the driver, an older man, may have fallen asleep or simply wasn’t paying attention.

Officers at the scene originally thought the driver was the only occupant inside until they found a woman under the dashboard. Paramedics were seen giving her chest compressions before she was taken by EMS in critical condition.

The man was also rushed to a hospital for his injuries, but his condition is not currently known. Neither person has been identified.

The Loop 410 eastbound ramp to Northwest Military has been shut down as a result of the crash. Drivers on the access road should use caution, because of the first responders at the site.

This is a developing story. Stay with KSAT12 both online and on-air for more information.

San Antonio police officers rescued two women from a burning vehicle after a crash on the city’s North Side early Thursday morning.

The crash occurred around 2:50 a.m. near the intersection of Fredericksburg Road and West Hildebrand Avenue.

According to police, officers arrived to find the front of the vehicle on fire and the driver unconscious. Police said the two women were both successfully rescued by officers.

SAPD said the driver apparently lost control and jumped two curbs, eventually crashing into an urgent care parking lot where the vehicle caught fire. Firefighters quickly put the fire out.

The driver and the passenger both refused medical treatment at the scene. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, police said.

The highly infectious omicron variant has COVID-19 cases on the rise. The increase has people looking for convenient at home tests and higher quality face masks, but they’re hard to find.

KSAT 12 went around San Antonio looking for at home tests and KN95 and N95 masks, but had no luck. Often signs were found at stores saying they were sold out or out of stock.

San Antonio residents had similar experiences dating back before Christmas and say they still have not been able to get an at home test.

“We went to a couple different CVS and Walgreens (stores) and they were out of stock. We missed seeing our parents on Christmas Eve and had to wait the next day to get tested,” Anthony Alcoser, a resident said.

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Ruth Berggren explained cloth masks simply aren’t a good enough defense against the Omicron variant.

DHR encourages people to wear KN95 and N95 face masks. It seems people have listened to that advice because stores were also out of those when sought on Wednesday.

“If you find yourself in a close crowd like that, you better have your mask on. And it should be a really good mask like a N95 or an N95 mask, or at the very least, a surgical mask,” said Berggren said.

Employees at a Walgreens on Hildebrand Avenue and San Pedro Avenue said they expect a shipment both Friday and Saturday. They believe they’ll be wiped out of their stock on those same afternoons.

KSAT 12 did find much better luck online. We were able to find an at home test and have it delivered to us in 45mins on the app go puff. The app also had lots availability of higher quality masks. The Go Puff app is similar to Doordash, Favor, and Uber Eats. Amazon is another good site for online shopping options.

The prices, however, online did vary. To make sure not to overpay, you can use the website CamelCamelCamel.com.

It monitors prices, and it showed a pack of KN95 masks was $30 on October, and today it was just under $80. At its peak, the price for one type of at-home test was around $35, but on Wednesday it was $24.88.

It’s a first in history— the American Red Cross has declared a nationwide blood crisis.

Our area has dealt with shortages before, for over a year now, but it’s now reached a critical point with life-threatening consequences.

Mia Perez is a beautiful 8-year-old girl who likes to bake with her mom and play Minecraft with her siblings.

She’s also battling T-cell leukemia.

“It attacks the bone marrow. So she needed blood right away and then that never stopped,” Mia’s mom Teresa explained.

Teresa is one of many who are on edge after hearing our blood shortage has reached a critical level nationwide.

“The biggest fear is just her not being able to continue her treatment,” Teresa said.

Dr. Leslie Greebon is the section chief and medical director of University Hospital Transfusion Services. She’s never been more worried about what this means for patients.

“We’re going to get to the point where we’re not going to have enough for them or the people who are massively bleeding,” Dr. Greebon said. “And that’s that’s scary because then that’s acute life-threatening things that are going to end up killing the patient.”

The majority of their blood comes from their own blood center.

“We are consistently running at 50% or below our critical inventory level. So it’s we’re in the red. We are in a danger area,” Dr. Greebon said.

If they turn to the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, they would be competing with other hospitals across South Texas and the condition of the patient in the hospital.

“It’ll come down to me having discussions with physicians about what is the prognosis of your patient if this is a horrible bleeding patient? Are they likely to survive? If not, I can’t waste resources on this patient,” Dr. Greebon explained.

Currently, we are hovering around a two-day supply of blood and a half-day supply of O-positive blood from the STBTC. Normally that center can ask for help from other blood banks, but not anymore.

“With this nationwide, blood crisis there is no one to to help move that blood from another state or another city,” Dr. Samantha Gomez Ngamsuntikul, the associate medical director at the STBTC said.

The Red Cross is reporting a 10% drop in donors, a fact that needs to change so children battling cancer like Mia can keep getting the treatment she needs.

“Just try it one time and think about the person that you’re really helping out. You’re not just helping the patient, but you’re helping the whole family get through something really tough,” Teresa said.

Part of what is leading to this crisis is a rise in omicron cases. So far, eight blood drives with the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center have been canceled.

Those blood drives could have supplied around 400 donations.

But you don’t have to wait for a blood drive to donate. You can donate directly to University Hospital by registering online or giving them a call (210)358-2812.

You can also donate easily to the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center by calling (210)731-5590 or registering online.

San Antonio police and Crime Stoppers are searching for information in connection with a murder suspect in a shooting that left a bicyclist dead in April 2021.

Police said 39-year-old Jesus Cardenas was riding his bicycle near the 600 block of East Evergreen Street around 2 a.m. on April 12 when he was being followed by someone in an unknown SUV.

Cardenas was checking trash cans on his bicycle when the SUV stopped near him, and someone inside fired shots, striking him, police said.

Officials said the shooter in the SUV drove away from the scene. Cardenas had a fatal gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Crime Stoppers may pay up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest of the person involved. Tips must be submitted directly to Crime Stoppers to be eligible for a reward. Anyone with information is asked to call 210-224-STOP (7867).

More on KSAT:

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