SAN ANTONIO, Texas – A man who apparently was ambushed in a stairwell at a Stone Oak apartment complex is being treated at a hospital for gunshot wounds.
San Antonio police Initially said the 22-year-old man was critically wounded. A later report indicated that he had been shot in the legs, and his wounds were not life-threatening.
The shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. Thursday on a staircase at the Vecina apartments, located in the 20900 block of Wilderness Oak.
A neighbor was inside his own apartment when he heard the commotion.
“At first, it sounded like it might’ve been fireworks,” he said. “After about eight rounds, you could tell that it was somebody shooting a gun.”
Moments later, the neighbor said he heard what sounded like a second person firing, almost as if the two were shooting at each other.
“So it was a back and forth. ‘Pop pop, pop pop,” the neighbor said.
A former Army soldier, the neighbor said he was used to this sort of scenario happening on the battlefield. He just never expected to hear it at home.
As he and other neighbors waited for police to arrive, they did what they could to protect themselves.
“I told my wife to get on the ground, as did a lot of people around here. They got their kids. There’s a lot of kids in these apartments,” the neighbor said.
Friday morning, signs of what happened the night before were clearly visible.
There were bullet holes in the base of the stairs and wall.
Spilled containers of food also remained in place in the stairwell, showing that someone was caught off guard by the shooting.
A police report mentioned that someone took aim at the man as he walked up the stairs, presumably heading to one of the apartments.
Police searched the area but did not find the shooter or shooters.