‘Almost afraid to step out’: Neighbors near Pickwell Park have new safety concerns

SAN ANTONIO — A 15-year-old boy’s game of pickup basketball with friends turned into a shocking experience when he says he saw a group of men rifling through his backpack Monday night. 

It happened on the southeast side at Pickwell Park, near Southeast Military Drive.

The teen said he was confused about why the men were disturbing his property. When he asked what they were doing, he said one of the men accused him of theft and gave him a hard slap across the face.

“I couldn’t see out of my left eye because that’s where he hit me,” Jay said.

The boy’s grandmother said his face was still swollen nearly 24 hours after the fact.

“He was very upset, very scared. He doesn’t understand why he was targeted,” Loretta said. “We called the police as soon as we found out what happened.”

Loretta said the officer who responded didn’t offer much hope of finding the man responsible.

“So this person gets to keep walking around doing this kind of thing with kids, and I don’t understand how this is being allowed. This was bodily injury to him,” Loretta said. “This man came up to my grandson and slapped him for no reason!”

“Pickwell Park has become a very scary place with people who are not supposed to be here,” Loretta added.

Frequent park user Oscar Hernandez said he believes most problems at Pickwell can be traced to an entrenched homeless community that occupies a vacant tract of land west of the park.

Describing a child he found crying on a park bench because his backpack had been stolen, Hernandez said: “It’s such a shame that you just can’t go to the neighborhood park to just have fun.”

Hernandez said he is in the park regularly to walk his dog and closely supervise his kids, adding he’s very aware of the foot traffic in the area.

“This is a direct pipeline for all the homeless because the restrooms stay open all day,” Hernandez said. “They use this as a walkway to get to the back because, near the highway, they have a camp of literally 15 to 20 people.”

Hernandez believes petty crimes at his apartment complex next door are tied to people in the camps.

“We see stuff missing all the time, and not just from the first floor, but from the second floor as well,” he said.

Hernandez said while it’s important to have a heart for all people, he also believes it’s not fair because the people who are stealing have no heart for the people they are victimizing. 

“They don’t think twice about what they are doing,” Hernandez said. “While kids are playing, they take their bags off the benches and run. I’ve seen it countless times.”

Some people who live nearby agree that threats to their safety seem to be increasing.

Anne says she has lived near the park for more than 20 years, but now she is hearing traffic in and out of the area all day and night.

“I’m almost afraid to step out, especially at night. You just don’t know what’s going to happen to you,” Anne said. “Sometimes when I go out to set the trash can out, I think, ‘I might not get back.’”

Describing one harrowing recent incident, she said a woman tried to get in her front door around 4 a.m. Anne said a neighbor heard the commotion and scared the woman away.

From his easy chair in his living room, Charles pointed out a gun he has within arm’s reach. 

“Me and my neighbors, we all keep guns,” he said. “The police are supposed to come out about once a day to check the area, but driving down the alley is not much of a check for them to do.”

Charles said the stream of people through the area is constant. 

“They come on bicycles and some of them walk and we’ve seen cars pull into the area. They know where they can dip into these wooded areas.”

Fires are an ever-present worry, Charles said, adding he never thought he would see conditions like this in this country.

San Antonio police said they’re looking into the attack on the teen and have answered many calls to the area. They said there have been 62 calls for help in July alone.

The District 3 City Council office says they have asked Park Police to increase their visibility here, too.

The Highland Hills Neighborhood Association is a robust group that meets monthly for residents in the area. Their next meeting is August 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Highland Hills Elementary (734 Glamis). 

More information about the group can be found here.