SAN ANTONIO — When someone fired eight shots outside an east-side home Thursday night, the brazen drive-by attack was caught on home surveillance cameras.
But what happened next offers an important lesson in what to do during such a scary time when bullets are flying.
Michele McCray said she had finished her dinner and was just settling in to watch a movie at her home near Copernicus Park when she heard a loud burst of gunfire nearby.
"I called 911 at 10:33 p.m.," McCray said, adding that after she talked to a San Antonio Police dispatcher, she reviewed video captured by several surveillance cameras mounted around her home.
She said the video revealed the shots came from at least two people in a dark-colored SUV speeding down Lord Road near Semlinger.
The bullets, fired from about 50 yards away, didn't hit her house, but they did strike fear in her heart.
"I never seen a police officer come out to investigate it at that point," McCray said.
McCray said she did ask for an officer to contact her and she claims that didn't happen.
San Antonio Police Spokesperson Michelle Ramos agrees McCray did make a call.
"She did report that she heard gunshots," Ramos said, but after a review of the 911 call, she said the woman did not ask to be contacted.
Ramos said body-worn camera video confirmed officers did drive through the area, but she said nobody flagged them down.
Because calls to police for shots fired or heard are so frequent, Ramos said it's important for people to provide as much information to officers as possible.
"If you're calling 911, let the officers know, 'Hey, I want to be contacted! I may have evidence that could be useful to your investigation,'" Ramos said, adding they do rely on citizens to provide crucial evidence.
"Report it. See something. Say something," Ramos said.
Ramos said if everyone reports suspicious incidents, officers on patrol will have a much clearer picture of the needs of the neighborhood.
"If you've had something similar happen at your home, your residence, in your neighborhood, you want to document that information so that officers know what's going on in the neighborhood and they can follow up on that information," Ramos said.
On Friday afternoon McCray contacted police again and was able to file a report. She is hoping her clues will generate answers and peace.
"Whoever is doing this, they really need to stop. The craziness is out of control," McCray said.
With a church campus to the east and a city park to the north, McCray said gun violence has no place in the area.
"We want to know who did it and why," she said. "We are peaceful people and we want peace back in our neighborhood."