Man shot in leg while confronting car burglars outside South Side home, San Antonio police say

San Antonio police are searching for three men who they say shot a man after he confronted them about breaking into his vehicle early Tuesday morning.

Officers were called around 3 a.m. to a home in the 500 block of Monticello Court, not far from East Southcross and South New Braunfels Avenue after receiving word of a person wounded.

According to police, the homeowner, a man in his 30s, was putting up Christmas lights and went to put his ladder away in a backyard shed. That’s when, police say, the man heard someone breaking into his truck in the driveway and went to investigate.

Police said the burglar saw the homeowner and told his friends who were waiting in a car to shoot the man. The driver of a red sedan fired, hitting the homeowner in the back of a leg as he tried to run.

SAPD said the suspects managed to steal “a few dollars” from the car and fled the scene. The driver went to a hospital on his own with a non-life-threatening injury.

So far, no arrests have been made in the case. A description of the suspects was not released.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, police said.

Man cut by knife during altercation at NW Side gas station, police say

San Antonio police are investigating after a man was cut with a knife during an altercation at a Northwest Side gas station late Monday night.

Officers were called around 11:40 p.m. to a Shell gas station in the 9500 block fo Wurzbach Road, not far from Fredericksburg Road and Interstate 10 after receiving word of a person injured.

According to police, two men in their 40s had gotten into a fight in the parking lot of the gas station. That’s when, police say, one of the men pulled out a knife and the other tried to grab it, cutting his hand.

Police said the man with the knife was detained by police and may face aggravated assault charges. The man cut was treated on scene by EMS.

The San Antonio Police Department, the San Antonio Fire Department and EMS all answered the call.

SAPD did not say exactly what the fight was about.

Blood partnership co-founded by local blood center saving lives

When a tragedy strikes, manmade or an act of God, the need for blood skyrockets.

With the nation facing a critical shortage, blood centers across the country decided to band together to help when the need for blood arises.

The Blood Emergency Readiness Corps or BERC program was started in September. Seven blood centers, including the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, came together to create something new— a blood sharing partnership.

Have you heard of BERC? Not yet? Well tonight at 10 on #TheNightbeat you will. The Blood Emergency Readiness Corps was started by 7 blood banks in 5 states back in September. Now they’ve expanded to 22 centers across 32 states. It’s a first of its kind blood sharing partnership.

— Leigh Waldman (@LeighWaldman) December 14, 2021

“Blood centers across the nation to respond in the case that there is a mass casualty, a major disaster where blood in the local area cannot support the need that is demanded at that time,” Adrienne Mendoza, the VP of blood operations at the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center said.

Mendoza says in just a short time, their program is expanding.

“The first seven centers were across five states. But now in November, we have 22 centers across 32 states already,” Mendoza said. Each blood center a part of BERC is asked to set aside five units.

She explained when a tragedy strikes there are “almost 100 units in total are available to send to a disaster should one occur now.”

Here’s how it works— each blood center is on a rotating schedule where they commit to collecting extra units of blood for a few weeks at a time.

BERC has been activated three times already. Most recently, in Kentucky when a powerful tornado ripped through the state leaving more than 70 people dead.

Before that, BERC was activated during the Michigan school shooting where four students died and several others were wounded. In that case, some of the blood came from the neighboring blood center in Corpus Christi.

“We got an email that morning stating, you know, BERC has been activated and we’re like, ‘oh my gosh.’ And then of course, we heard of the Michigan shootings. So it was just literally from one day to the next,” Ashley Ramirez, public relations for Coastal Bend Blood Center said.

The hope is to have blood centers in all 50 states and US territories join BERC.

“We don’t know how big the need may be, but the more prepared we are, the easier that is,” Mendoza said.

BERC doesn’t impact the local blood supply, it’s blood that’s set aside specifically for the program.

The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center is looking for organizations or sponsors to host BERC blood drives to keep this program around and successful.

1 dead, 1 wounded in shooting after botched drug deal on East Side, San Antonio police say

A man in his late teens to early 20s is dead, and an 18-year-old man is injured after they were shooting at each other following a botched drug deal on the East Side, San Antonio police said.

The shooting happened on East Crockett Street near North Gevers Street on Monday night. Officers were responding to a call nearby and heard the gunshots going off.

When they arrived at the scene, they found one man in a vehicle shot at least one “if not a couple of times” and was pronounced dead at the scene, San Antonio police said.

A short time later, police found the second man in an empty lot with gunshot wounds in the abdomen and chest. Emergency medical services personnel transported him to Brooke Army Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

San Antonio police say they believe the two men were involved in a drug deal that didn’t go as planned, leading to a shootout between the two individuals.

Investigators are working to determine who shot who first and are treating the surrounding area as a large crime scene.

KSAT will update you with the latest information on this story as it becomes available.

San Antonio mental wellness program poised to expand to help more students, educators

The San Antonio Mobile Mental Wellness Collaborative (SAMMWC) — implemented at South SanEdgewood and Harlandale school districts — is poised to expand its innovative approach of actually being on the campuses it serves.

By partnering with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute — considered a national leader in the field — and its support from the city and county, SAMMWC will be in San Antonio and Judson independent school districts next year, with plans to add two more districts annually.

“We also are having conversations with school districts across Texas and nationally to expand this model,” said Talli Goldman-Dolge, who will become the CEO of the collaborative she helped form in 2018 as the CEO of Jewish Family Service, along with five other nonprofits.

Goldman-Dolge also becomes the senior vice president for school and community partnerships statewide at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.

Goldman-Dolge said she credits the program’s success to its accessibility and its holistic approach to mental wellness.

“We brought comprehensive mental health services out of our offices and directly into the school community,” Goldman-Dolge said.

The program offers free counseling, training and outreach to students, teachers, administrators, families and caregivers.

Goldman-Dolge said the response has grown from 1,600 clients during its first year to what could be as many as 6,000-8,000 by the end of the school year.

“It definitely tells me that people are craving, needing and wanting mental health services,” Goldman-Dolge said.

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City slams ‘Ousted’ report on its code enforcement practices as ‘fundamentally flawed’

EDITOR’S NOTE: A broadcast version of this story incorrectly stated the time period examined within the report and the name of the association to which one of the speakers belonged. The errors have been fixed in the story below.

San Antonio city staff are pushing back against a damning report that found the city’s code enforcement practices have been used to displace residents at a much higher rate than other cities.

“I believe this report was prepared with the intent to really incite controversy rather than help us,” Director of Development Services Michael Shannon told a city council committee on Monday, calling the report “fundamentally flawed.”

The report, “Ousted: The City of San Antonio’s Displacement of Residents through Code Enforcement Actions,” found 626 orders to vacate and orders to demolish occupied San Antonio homes between 2015 and 2020. Meanwhile, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin issued only 16 orders between them.

Other unflattering findings in the report included: orders being concentrated in low-income communities of color within the urban core, the city routinely failing to provide a due process hearing, and the city “rarely” providing relocation assistance.

However, Shannon says the report relies on inaccurate data and uses “unsound” methodology. He also says it lacks context about the city’s situation, such as the reasons for the notices to vacate, such as long-term nuisance properties related to the Dangerous Assessment Response Team.

Instead of 626 orders, Shannon presented data Monday showing 331 notices to vacate and 73 Building Standards Board demolition orders for occupied homes – a total of 404 orders.

The report’s lead author, Heather Way, is the co-director of the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin and says she has worked in the affordable housing field for 25 years and has been an academic for 15 years.

Way told KSAT that her team stands by their research. Their data, she said, came from the city through open records requests.

“I definitely think that there’s nit-picking going on here, and that really it is smoke and mirrors,” Way said of city staff’s rebuttal to her report. “It’s that they’re detracting, trying to detract from what the real issues are at hand here. And the reality is, even when you use the city’s newest, latest numbers, that the city still is forcing hundreds of vulnerable families out of their homes.”

While the full scope of the discrepancy in the numbers was unclear, at least one portion was due to the report’s inclusion of “hold harmless” agreements in which the owner agrees to let the city demolish their home.

Shannon did not include those numbers in his Monday presentation, saying they are different from a demolition order, but he told KSAT their exclusion still doesn’t make up the difference.

The city’s presentation also used fiscal years to organize its data, which run from October to September, rather than the calendar years used in the report. A city spokeswoman said the data they provided to Way and her team was also by fiscal year.

The city also listed a much lower number of emergency demolition orders for occupied homes — three, rather than the 44 estimated in the report.

In reference to relocation assistance, staff said the report only looked at one fund of money when there were actually several more that helped people going through the process.

“We have spent a lot of time, energy and resources, including financial assistance, helping people that have to deal with such a dangerous situation,” Shannon said.

Shannon says the city follows the law and provides due process, too. However, he did acknowledge that when there’s a home with immediate danger, the city will issue a notice to vacate, generally within 72 hours.

“It creates a dialogue,” he said. “And while we don’t have a process when I issue that in terms of a hearing before it, the process is there can be an appeal. And it’s also the time that we’re starting to work with the needs of that residents to try to identify the assistance.”

Way, however, said the orders don’t inform people of what their hearing rights are.

“How would you know if you got an order from the city saying you have to leave your home in 48 to 72 hours? You’re not an attorney. How do you know that you have a right to appeal — what that appeal right is? No one knows that,” Way said.

City attorney Andy Segovia told media members he was “especially troubled” by the report’s use of historic redlining maps laid over the locations of notices to vacate and demolitions.

“Because the not so subtle insinuation is that Mike’s people are over there with their clipboard saying, ‘The owner of that house — white. I’m going to ignore it. The owner of that house — Latino. I’m going to write a demolition order.’ Nothing can be further from the fact,” Segovia said.

Activists speaking at the meeting ahead of city staff’s presentation found the report rang true.

“Despite what might be said today about the data that was presented in the Ousted report — to refute the data — our lived experiences tell us that our neighborhood is under attack,” said Leticia Sanchez, co-chair of the Historic West Side Residents Association.

Staff said they want to commission a study through the University of Texas at San Antonio to examine the city’s code enforcement data, practices, and impact.

At least one council member, though, questioned whether that was necessary.

“You know, the fact that we’re having conversations about another study gives me pause,” said District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo. “I think we need to trust the community input and voice that has been coming forward for years, highlighting this as an issue.”

Way supports having more academic researchers look into the issue.

“The more attention that can be — to be given to this, the better. And just in general, the more attention that can be given to this issue will hopefully lead to the changes that are needed because, ultimately, that’s what this is about,” Way said.

Man killed in one-vehicle crash in Helotes, BCSO says

A man was killed in a one-vehicle crash Monday in Helotes.

According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called out around 4:45 p.m. to the 19000 block of Highway 16 for a vehicle crash.

When deputies arrived, they found a man dead in his vehicle, BCSO officials said.

It appears the man lost control of the vehicle before it left the highway and crashed, BCSO officials said.

A passing motorist reported the crash.

Also on KSAT.com:

Commissioner Trish DeBerry launches bid for Bexar County JudgeFirst two cases of COVID-19 omicron variant reported in Bexar County, health officials sayBonuses, pay raises aim to fight teacher shortage across San Antonio-area schools

How COVID-19 is having a long-lasting impact on children infected by virus

The move is on to get kids as young as 5 years old vaccinated against COVID-19. The rush is in response to an increasing number of children getting COVID-19 and then experiencing inflammation throughout their bodies.

Jackson Thorn has got game … whether he’s shooting hoops … or playing a game of catch. Not much slowed this 12-year-old down. Until …

“My head started hurting and my stomach started hurting,” Jackson said.

“He woke up in the middle of the night and was wheezing,” said Amy Polly, Jackson’s mom.

Jackson was suffering from an after-effect of COVID-19 in kids called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children or MIS-C for short.

“I see kids with MIS-C and I see this post inflammatory reaction to COVID is really just like nothing I’ve seen in my career before,” said Megan Cooper, MD, a pediatric rheumatologist immunologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Cooper said that many of her patients, like Jackson, didn’t even know they had COVID-19 until they started feeling the after-effects of MIS-C, causing inflammation in the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, and digestive organs.

“This is not the flu. This is not a bad cold,” Cooper said.

“I felt scared because I didn’t know what was wrong with me,” Jackson said.

Symptoms include a high fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting.

“All of a sudden he would go from feeling okay to a super high fever, terrible headache, all within a matter of like five minutes,” Amy said.

Jackson spent eight days in the hospital that included a 10-hour IV infusion, followed by two weeks of steroids. Jackson is now feeling better. Cooper said the best way to avoid MIS-C is to avoid getting COVID-19.

“Get vaccinated, please,” Cooper said.

Black and Hispanic children have been disproportionally impacted by MIS-C. Doctors don’t know why some kids with COVID-19 get MIS-C and some don’t, or how long symptoms will last. But symptoms usually occur within two to four weeks after having the virus or being around someone who had it. Interestingly, researchers believe that in the future, COVID-19 will primarily impact very young children, as most everyone else will be vaccinated.

Here are some non-thing gift ideas for Christmas

Stumped for a great and personal gift idea or just can’t find what you’re looking for? Experiential gifts out of the box and guaranteed to be in stock.

Instead of toys or video games, Sarah Peterson suggests her relatives give her three sons something a little different.

“I like to encourage giving them something like a class,” she said. “So, they’ve helped pay for swim classes.”

Considering supply chain snags this year, the time may be right for unconventional gifts.

“If you’re worried about getting your gift in time or being able to even find a gift, you can consider gift cards, you can consider online subscriptions,” said Consumer Reports’ Angela Lashbrook. “It’s not as impersonal as you may think it is.”

A busy friend or relative may appreciate a meal kit service. Many contain quality ingredients and easy recipes.

If you know someone who could use a little more zen in their life, consider a subscription to a meditation app like Calm Pzizz, or Headspace. A gift card to Spafinder lets the recipient book a massage at a local spa of their choice.

For the friend who loves fitness, a subscription to Classpass gives access to gym classes at local fitness studios or online.

For the gift or knowledge, there are subscriptions to Masterclass, Wondrium, or Skillshare. Loved ones can take online classes taught by experts in everything from art to zoology.

For nature lovers, there’s a national parks pass for $80. That gives access to more than 100 national parks, monuments and battlefields for a year.

And, don’t forget passes or memberships to local places like the Witte Museum, the Doseum or the San Antonio Zoo.

Another thoughtful idea is to donate to a preferred charity in someone’s name.

Commissioner Trish DeBerry launches bid for Bexar County Judge

Bexar County Pct. 3 Commissioner Trish DeBerry announced Monday she will be running for county judge.

DeBerry made her candidacy official minutes before Monday’s 6 p.m. deadline. She will run as a Republican and joins one other GOP candidate and four Democrats.

Under state law, DeBerry’s candidacy for county judge means she’ll be required to forfeit her current seat on the Bexar County Commissioner’s Court, where she represents the North Side precinct.

Regardless of who wins the general election in November, Bexar County will have new representation in that office for the first time since 2001, after longtime County Judge Nelson Wolff announced he would not seek re-election.

A timeline is not immediately clear on when DeBerry will leave the commissioner’s court. She will be replaced by an appointee, who will serve until her term ends in 2024.

Other candidates

The primary is slated for March 1, 2022. Here are the other candidates who have filed:

Small business owner Nathan Buchanan, RepublicanState Rep. Ina Minjarez, DemocratMayoral chief of staff Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, DemocratFormer mayoral candidate Gerard Ponce, DemocratFormer district court judge Peter Sakai, Democrat

Election outlook

DeBerry, a former mayoral candidate and marketing group CEO, beat out Democrat Christine Hortick to win her first county commissioner term in 2020. The position is DeBerry’s first elected office.

In her 11 months in office, DeBerry has scrutinized the operations at the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, often clashing with Sheriff Javier Salazar on his department’s purchasing requests and policies.

Her chances of securing the Republican primary are strong, with small business owner Nathan Buchanan as the only other candidate.

However, she faces a much tougher battle in the general election.

The county has not elected a Republican as Bexar County Judge since 1998, when Cyndi Taylor Krier clinched her second term in office. Krier resigned in 2001 after she was named to the UT System Board of Regents. Wolff was appointed in her place and remained in the office since then after winning five consecutive terms.

Read more on our Vote 2022 page:

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff says he won’t run for re-electionTwo Democrats formally enter their respective races as deadline approaches