SAN ANTONIO – A bus apparently stolen from a school district on the Southeast Side of town has been located in a strip mall clear across town, on the West Side.
San Antonio police found the bus Thursday morning in a shopping center on Ingram Road near Callaghan Road.
According to officers at the scene, they were responding to a call for assistance from police with the East Central Independent School District when they found the stolen vehicle after 5:30 a.m.
They say ECISD police, using a tracking device, initially pinpointed an area near Ingram and Loop 410.
A short time later, the device signaled that the bus actually was in the 6000 block of Ingram, near Callaghan Road.
SAPD officers boarded the abandoned bus and searched it for any possible weapons or any people inside it.
However, they said they did not find anyone or anything inside it.
They kept watch over the bus for more than an hour, waiting for officials with ECISD to arrive and reclaim the stolen bus.
East Central ISD sent the following statement early Thursday morning:
“East Central Independent School District (ECISD) is saddened to report that one of our buses was stolen from our transportation hub overnight. We can confirm that at no time was anyone harmed during this incident and that it is not affecting any of our bus routes this morning.We are unable to give specific details at this time due to an ongoing investigation, but we can confirm that the suspect’s vehicle was stuck at the transportation hub and that our hub was broken into. As a result, one of our buses was stolen. We are working closely with the San Antonio Police Department, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, and the East Central Police Department to investigate this matter.We are relieved to report that the stolen bus has been recovered, thanks to the swift and coordinated efforts of the law enforcement agencies involved. We are grateful for their tireless efforts in ensuring that our students’ safety is a top priority. ECISD would like to assure our community that we take this incident very seriously and are taking every step necessary to ensure that our transportation hub is secure. We understand the importance of our buses in transporting our students to and from school safely, and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that they remain safe and secure.We will release further updates once the investigation is complete. In the meantime, we ask for the community’s cooperation and support as we work to ensure the safety and security of our students and staff.”