A shooting in San Antonio's Historic Market Square interrupted the city's annual Fiesta celebration this weekend, causing people to take cover as police responded quickly.
In a statement and a video on Monday, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus identified one suspect as Mikey Valdez, 18, and another suspect as Albert Cisneros, 20.
The shooting happened just hours after the Fiesta Flambeau Parade, the nation's largest illuminated parade that attracts more than 750,000 people.
Police said that two officers saw Valdez fire a handgun at Cisneros. Officers returned fire, striking Valdez several times. He died at the scene.
It was unclear was role Cisneros played. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he later was pronounced dead.
Police said two women, ages 29 and 36, were transported to a hospital with gunshot wounds. Two other women, one 23 and the other 24, were both treated at the scene. Two handguns were recovered.
The officers have been identified as 13-year veteran Sgt. Joseph Fech and 5-year veteran officer Zachary Krok. No officers were injured.
The statement on Monday added that "both the SAPD Shooting Team and the Internal Affairs Unit will conduct separate, concurrent inquiries. Their findings will be sent to the Bexar County District Attorney's Office for an independent review."
McManus added that the shooting was an isolated incident "between two individuals who had some sort of beef, and they decided to take it to Market Square among all those people. This was not any kind of a mass event."
Witness Eva Villareal traveled from Dallas to San Antonio to enjoy Fiesta week. She was partying with her friends outside of a La Quinta hotel across from where the shooting occurred when she heard gunfire coming from Market Square.
“We were out here with the DJ, listening to the music and then we heard five shots, and the DJ said, ‘We’re closing it down. Everybody take cover,’” she said.
Villareal said that the DJ stopped the music abruptly when the shots were fired and instructed them to move.
“We were over here on the sidewalk, so we went behind the cars to the parking lot of the La Quinta,” she said.
Nearly four hours after the shooting occurred, Villareal and her friends remained outside of the La Quinta, dancing and socializing on the sidewalk — just like they were before the shooting.
“We stayed out here. Moose, the DJ, he gave a little speech and it’s sad," she said. "I’m wondering, are they gonna close Fiesta for tomorrow?”
In the SAPD video, McManus was asked what future Fiesta-goers can expect in terms of safety at Market Square.
"So next year, if you decide you're going to go to Market Square and celebrate Fiesta," he explained, "you can be assured that you will be checked for weapons ... and if you're carrying backpacks or bags they'll be checked as well."
During last year's Fiesta, another shooting wounded a man and sent crowds at Market Square running in panic. For many, both scenes evoke memories of the 1979 Fiesta Battle of Flowers Parade shooting, where a sniper killed two people and wounded 50 others.
Joey Palacios and Steve Short contributed to this report.
