San Antonio – The wife and sister of a homeless man who was shot three times in Alamo Plaza Saturday afternoon are speaking out against gun violence while raising awareness for mental health.
Crystal David said she and Cipriano David, her husband, were crossing a crosswalk as they were making their way to his sister’s house when the incident happened.
“We were just trying to cross and he[the driver] cut us off,” Crystal David said. “He started screaming ‘F*** you! F*** you two!’ and he drove off.”
Driver shoots panhandler in Alamo Plaza, police say
Crystal David said they continued to walk but soon ran into the driver who police have identified as Oscar Perez, 69, again.
“When we got to the bus stop, that is when my husband was like ‘Is that the car? is that the car?’ I said ‘Yes that is the car,’” Crystal David said. “That is when he went over and kicked the car and that is when he got shot.”
Crystal David and Cipriano David have been homeless for two years.
She said knowing her husband has suffered from a bipolar disorder his entire life, she tried to calm him down.
“I was telling him not to worry about it,” Crystal David said. “When he gets upset like that, it goes in one ear and out the other. When he kicked the car, I heard the shots and I screamed, ‘You shot my husband!’”
Crystal said Perez got out of the car.
“I was scared and thought he was going to shoot me too,” Crystal David said. “The lady who was helping my husband on the ground told him to just leave.”
She said the police showed up soon and she spoke with detectives. Cipriano David’s sister said she was in shock.
“I just got off the phone with him because he was hungry and I told him just go to my house to get some soups and stuff like that,” Jennifer David said. “My other brother called me and told me that he was shot and I called Crystal and she told me he was shot and was being rushed to the hospital.”
Jennifer David said because her brother suffers from his mental illness, he has always had a temper.
“His temper kicks in when he is defending someone he loves,” Jennifer David said. “When you are talking about his wife or anything like that, that is when his temper kicks in. Other than that, he is pretty laid back. He is pretty quiet. He doesn’t say much to anybody.”
Cipriano David is now in stable condition but has a punctured lung and a shattered elbow. Jennifer David said she hopes her brother learns from this incident.
“Even if it is regarding family members or not, just to walk away,” Jennifer David said. “His temper is not always going to fix everything. It could kill him one day and I don’t want that to happen. Hopefully, he can move forward and be more careful.”
She said she also hopes this incident serves as a lesson to others to stop the gun violence.
“I just want people to put the guns down,” Jennifer David said. “You don’t know what the other person has in the car. A lot of people don’t want to fight with fists these days. A lot of people want to fight with extreme violence and that is not the answer to anything. Just put the guns down.”
Perez told San Antonio police that he shot Cipriano after he was aggressively panhandling. Perez claimed he hit his car window and kicked his car which is why he allegedly rolled down his window, pulled his gun out and shot Cipriano three times.
Crystal David said that was not the case because they have never panhandled during the time they’ve been homeless. She too is asking people to put the guns down.
“I suffer from a bipolar disorder too, but I have learned how to walk away,” Crystal David said. “You just never know how the things you say could trigger someone who is fighting mental illness. You never know how they will react to defend themselves or the people they love. Guns are never a solution.”
Perez was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Records show he has since bonded out of jail on a $40,000 bond.
