Three San Antonio teens face charges in connection with a string of shootings near Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland last month, authorities said at a Wednesday press conference.
The announcement marks the first time law enforcement groups have discussed a major breakthrough in the shootings, which took place Aug. 17 and involved unidentified suspects exchanging fire with military personnel at the base's entrance.
The incidents made headlines and triggered speculation they might have been terrorist attacks. Instead, officials with the San Antonio Police Department and Bexar County Sheriff's Office said ballistics evidence tied the shootings to a trio of local teens.
Ricardo Samaniego, 18, is charged with deadly conduct discharge-firearm, a third-degree felony, according to BCSO officials. He was arrested Tuesday and has since been released on a $15,000 bond, court records show.
Joseph Jimenez, 19, is charged with deadly conduct and is awaiting a federal indictment on a gun charge, BCSO officials added. Meanwhile, Elijah Martinez, 19, was arrested and charged with child endangerment, according to authorities.
The arrests stemmed from a collaborative investigation involving SAPD, the sheriff's office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
During Wednesday's press conference, San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus alleged Jimenez and Samaniego opened fire while driving a stolen vehicle near the front gate of JBSA-Lackland on two separate occasions in the early morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 17.
Shortly before midnight that same day, Jimenez accidentally shot Samaniego while the pair were attending a child’s birthday party at an apartment complex on Marbach Road, authorities also allege.
Samaniego was holding a 6-month-old child at the time Jimenez shot him the abdomen by Jimenez, BCSO Sheriff Salazar Javier said. However, the child was unharmed.
BCSO deputies responded to the shooting on Marbach, and Samaneigo was treated for his injuries at a local hospital, according to Salazar. Samaneigo opted not to press charges against Jimenez, who had already fled the scene with Martinez, the sheriff added.
The gun used in the shootings at JBSA-Lackland and the shooting of Sameniego were in the possession of Jimenez and Martinez at the time they left the party, Salazar also told reporters.
Salazar said his office was able to connect the weapon used to shoot Samaneigo — a tan Glock-19 with an illegal switch — to the shootings at JBSA-Lackland by comparing shell casings from both crime scenes and using the Integrated Ballistic Information Network, a national computer network of ballistic evidence.
BCSO also received reports of gunfire coming from a red sedan near JBSA-Lackland in the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 18. That shooting is still under investigation, Salazar said.
Jimenez admitted to his involvement in the shooting of Samaneigo and to firing a weapon at JBSA-Lackland after authorities executed a search warrant, Salazar said. The suspect also admitted to stealing a vehicle matching the description of the car spotted near the base at the time of the shooting, the sheriff said.
Meanwhile, Martinez denies his involvement in any of the shootings, according to authorities.
BCSO located the weapon believed to be used in the shooting of Samaneigo and JBSA-Lackland in a storage unit, officials said at Wednesday's press conference.
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The announcement marks the first time law enforcement groups have discussed a major breakthrough in the shootings, which took place Aug. 17 and involved unidentified suspects exchanging fire with military personnel at the base's entrance.
The incidents made headlines and triggered speculation they might have been terrorist attacks. Instead, officials with the San Antonio Police Department and Bexar County Sheriff's Office said ballistics evidence tied the shootings to a trio of local teens.
Ricardo Samaniego, 18, is charged with deadly conduct discharge-firearm, a third-degree felony, according to BCSO officials. He was arrested Tuesday and has since been released on a $15,000 bond, court records show.
Joseph Jimenez, 19, is charged with deadly conduct and is awaiting a federal indictment on a gun charge, BCSO officials added. Meanwhile, Elijah Martinez, 19, was arrested and charged with child endangerment, according to authorities.
The arrests stemmed from a collaborative investigation involving SAPD, the sheriff's office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
During Wednesday's press conference, San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus alleged Jimenez and Samaniego opened fire while driving a stolen vehicle near the front gate of JBSA-Lackland on two separate occasions in the early morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 17.
Shortly before midnight that same day, Jimenez accidentally shot Samaniego while the pair were attending a child’s birthday party at an apartment complex on Marbach Road, authorities also allege.
Samaniego was holding a 6-month-old child at the time Jimenez shot him the abdomen by Jimenez, BCSO Sheriff Salazar Javier said. However, the child was unharmed.
BCSO deputies responded to the shooting on Marbach, and Samaneigo was treated for his injuries at a local hospital, according to Salazar. Samaneigo opted not to press charges against Jimenez, who had already fled the scene with Martinez, the sheriff added.
The gun used in the shootings at JBSA-Lackland and the shooting of Sameniego were in the possession of Jimenez and Martinez at the time they left the party, Salazar also told reporters.
Salazar said his office was able to connect the weapon used to shoot Samaneigo — a tan Glock-19 with an illegal switch — to the shootings at JBSA-Lackland by comparing shell casings from both crime scenes and using the Integrated Ballistic Information Network, a national computer network of ballistic evidence.
BCSO also received reports of gunfire coming from a red sedan near JBSA-Lackland in the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 18. That shooting is still under investigation, Salazar said.
Jimenez admitted to his involvement in the shooting of Samaneigo and to firing a weapon at JBSA-Lackland after authorities executed a search warrant, Salazar said. The suspect also admitted to stealing a vehicle matching the description of the car spotted near the base at the time of the shooting, the sheriff said.
Meanwhile, Martinez denies his involvement in any of the shootings, according to authorities.
BCSO located the weapon believed to be used in the shooting of Samaneigo and JBSA-Lackland in a storage unit, officials said at Wednesday's press conference.
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