Three sought in quadruple shooting at South Park mall

San Antonio police say four people were injured in a shooting Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019 at South Park Mall. San Antonio police say four people were injured in a shooting Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019 at South Park Mall. Photo: Jacob Beltran Photo: Jacob Beltran Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Three sought in quadruple shooting at South Park mall 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Hours after a targeted shooting left four people injured, it was business as usual Thursday at the Southwest Side mall where the attack occurred.

Police Chief William McManus said the shooting occurred about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday at a breezeway entrance to South Park Mall, near the south entrance of the J.C. Penney store.

Three males — ages 17, 26 and 41 — and a 19-year-old woman were shot while leaving the mall, investigators said.

The four were taken to an area hospital, where they were listed in stable condition, police said. Updates on their conditions weren’t available Thursday night.

“The most critical one was shot in the abdomen, but he is in stable condition,” McManus said Wednesday night.

Police said the four shooting victims were together but did not specify their relationship to each other. The shooting was not random, investigators said, as the four were the intended targets.

McManus said there were three shooters among five people who fled in a black Dodge Charger.

Police did not reveal what type of firearms were used.

Detectives were working to determine whether the attackers were firing from inside the car or if they exited the vehicle, McManus said.

“There’s shell casings all over the place, and they’re piecing it together right now,” the chief said moments after the shooting.

Ramiro Sanchez, 25, was going to grab cookies with his family at the mall when they drove into the lot and saw ambulances arrive and rush the man shot in the abdomen away from the scene.

He said one person could be seen throwing items around, while another sat calmly on the sidewalk.

“One guy was real furious,” he said. “The cop was trying to talk to him as he was walking away.”

McManus said he didn’t wish to speculate on what fueled the assault.

“As far as a motive goes, we simply don’t know right now,” he said.

The shooting happened minutes before the mall’s 9 p.m. closing.

The next day, the mall appeared busy with people doing their holiday shopping.

Brian Peters, general manager with Jones Lang LaSalle — the company that manages the property — said security was continuing daily patrols after the shooting.

He applauded the mall security officers’ response to the shooting and how well they worked with SAPD during the investigation. He said the security personnel often perform regular drills for employees and tenants.

“We have a commitment to a safe environment to our customers,” he said. “We have staff who are trained to work in this type of situation.”

The regular shopping traffic was a surprise to some store managers and owners, who thought there would be fewer patrons as a result of the shooting.

Bonnie Albiar and her family were visiting from Kenedy, and they knew of the shooting. They said South Park is their favorite mall because it never gets overly crowded.

“It didn’t stop us,” Albiar said. “It was shopping as usual”

Jesse Espitia, 33, went to the mall with his nephew, sister and her husband to get a photo taken with Santa.

Espitia, a lifelong South Side resident, works at the Alamo with visitor services.

“You can’t let this stop you from living your life,” Espitia said. “You have shootings at church, theaters, restaurants. You can’t let fear stop you. You gotta keep going.”

The fact that it was a targeted shooting and not a random act of violence similar to those seen in other parts of Texas put some at ease.

Espitia felt concern for the people targeted.

“Who is to say they’re not out looking for these people again,” he said.

As of late Thursday, SAPD hadn’t identified any suspects, nor were there any arrests announced in the case.

Jacob Beltran is a reporter covering San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA