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Bexar County Democratic Party headquarters shot at, party leaders say they will not be intimidated

Joey Palacios / Texas Public Radio
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales addresses the press outside of the Bexar County Democrats headquarters on Fredericksburg road in front of the nearly shattered window.

The Bexar County Democratic Party headquarters appears to have been shot at Monday night.

A large glass window pane at the headquarters is completely cracked with at least one impact point. The window of a panaderia next door is also heavily cracked from impact. While it’s clear vandalism took place, what’s unclear is who did it and why. The building on Fredericksburg Road has been the subject of several threats in recent months.

Bexar County Democratic Party Chair Monica Alcantara
Joey Palacios / Texas Public Radio
Bexar County Democratic Party Chair Monica Alcantara

Though it’s not certain if the Democratic Party headquarters was deliberately targeted, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said the overnight shooting appeared to be targeted.

“While I am relieved that there were no casualties, I am deeply disturbed by this act of political violence,” Gonzales said. “We don’t yet know the names or the party affiliations of the individuals who fired weapons at the Democratic Party headquarters, but we do know that these are not the actions of someone engaged in civil discourse; these are the actions of criminals with radical beliefs.”

Gonzales noted later at the possibility the firing could have been random but there were other businesses that didn’t suffer the same direct hits. The window of the panaderia is directly adjacent to the wall of the Democratic headquarters. A third business, the office of Viva Politics, which runs the campaign for Democratic Bexar County Judge nominee Peter Sakai, was also damaged.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar was on-site shortly before Gonzales and Bexar County Democratic Party Chair Monica Alcantara held a press conference at its Fredericksburg Road headquarters. Salazar declined to comment about the investigation.

The shooting took place overnight. Alcantara said video of the incident has been turned over to law enforcement. The chairwoman noted that the headquarters has received several threats over the last few months, including threatening notes placed on the cars of volunteers.

Bexar County Democratic Party Chair Monica Alcantara holds up a copy of a note left on a volunteers car outside of the headquarters in 2021.
Joey Palacios / Texas Public Radio

“They’ve been followed home, some have been followed out of the headquarters, we’ve also received numerous Trump flags left in front of our doorstep,” she said. “To us, I can’t say for certain that this was targeted but I can tell you that through the last year … the incidents have increased in nature.”

One such note found in 2021 said: “You have Blood on your hands just like the criminal you helped steal whitehouse [sic]. Be very careful People hate you.” That note was turned over to San Antonio Police.

“This type of intimidation or tactics will not be tolerated, meaning that we are not going to allow ourselves to be intimidated and we will instead be motivated,” she said. “This is going to motivate us to register more voters.”

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Joey Palacios can be reached atJoey@TPR.org and on Twitter at @Joeycules