SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Police Department has released a video of an SUV possibly connected to the shooting death of Army Staff Sgt. Jessica Ann Mitchell in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
Mitchell was shot sometime after 2 a.m. on Jan. 1 as she traveled eastbound on Interstate 10 near the Vance Jackson Road exit, police said.
Someone in a red vehicle, possibly seen in the video released Friday, opened fire on the driver’s side of Mitchell’s white Dodge Charger, striking her several times.
She may have swerved into the red vehicle, causing minor damage and paint transfer, police said. Investigators said red paint was found on Mitchell’s Dodge Charger.
Surveillance footage shows the red SUV driving behind Mitchell on Wurzbach Road, right after she left the 4th Quarter Sports Bar, police said. She was there celebrating New Year’s Eve with her friends, authorities said.
After the shooting, she was transported to University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at approximately 3:21 a.m.
Mitchell, a 68E Dental Specialist, was assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, according to JBSA.
Mitchell had been assigned to the Medical Center of Excellence since August 2019. Prior to that assignment, she served at a JBSA dental clinic since October 2017.
Her family previously told KSAT that she left behind a son, and “was a wonderful mother.”
“In his smile and facial expressions, she is there,” said Ashley Mitchell, her sister. “To see how happy her son is, she did an excellent job with him. Everything she did, she did for him, and she loved him to infinity and beyond.”
San Antonio Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $30,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Anyone with information on this case or the vehicle is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 210-224-STOP and reference case SAPD 21-000072. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
The U.S. Army is also offering reward money for information.