SAN ANTONIO – A deadly shooting during a Fiesta event at Market Square late Saturday night has some people pondering whether they will attend next year.
San Antonio police said two men began shooting at each other shortly before midnight in the middle of a crowd attending Fiesta de los Reyes.
Officers who responded to the gunshots also pulled out their weapons and fired, police say.
Both men involved in the shooting were killed, and several other people suffered injuries.
Initially, police said six people were hurt. Later, they said the number of injured was four.
They say the shooting itself is still under investigation.
As police work to sort out the facts, some people are concerned about safety.
“I’ve been coming out here for years, but unfortunately, I think it’s getting out of hand,” one long-time Fiesta-goer, who did not want to reveal his identity, said. “It’s a family event, and now it’s kind of dangerous.”
The man said he was in the middle of Market Square, waiting for a concert to begin, when the commotion erupted around him.
Now, he said he is thinking long and hard about whether he will come back again next year.
That’s exactly the kind of thinking that worries Jaime Herrejon, a vendor at Market Square, for the past 50 years.
He’s concerned the shooting and a series of other events could make people avoid the celebrations.
Police said an incident at the same event last week left two officers injured.
They said the officers were working to break up several fights in the crowd attending a concert when they were pelted with items, including a bottle.
Video posted online showed people leaving the area, coughing and wheezing from something they inhaled.
People posted that they thought police had used tear gas on them to disperse the crowd.
However, SAPD denied that, while not clearly explaining what, if anything, was used.
At a Fiesta de los Reyes celebration during Fiesta last year, another man was shot during an argument.
“We have to do something to keep people from bringing guns in,” Herrejon said. “When you’re going to go out, the last thing you want to think (is) you might get shot.”
Herrejon said he expects the city, event organizers and vendors to discuss how to make the event safer.
He said as a group, vendors have rejected the idea in the past of sealing off the area with a fence.
Other ideas that have come up have included using metal detectors or wands to check people for weapons.
“We want people to come in and enjoy it and know that they’re going to be safe,” Herrejon said.
KSAT 12 News called and emailed Jacob Valenzuela, the executive director of Rey Feo Consejo Educational Foundation, which oversees Fiesta de los Reyes, to ask about potential changes for next year.
We also emailed the Fiesta Commission.
As of Monday afternoon, no one had responded.