Rodriguez said he rushed outside moments later and believes the suspects escaped in a maroon SUV.
SAN ANTONIO — A west-side homeowner says surveillance video captured a bold attempted car break-in outside his residence early Wednesday morning — including the suspect making an obscene gesture toward the camera before taking off.
Noel Rodriguez said the incident happened just after 3 a.m. along Robles Street. Video from his home security system appears to show a young suspect trying to get into a parked vehicle before nearby sirens and a security alarm startled the group.
“The arrogance these kids have, and the bravery!” Rodriguez said.
The surveillance video also shows the suspect raising both middle fingers toward the camera moments before fleeing.
“He goes, grabs it, doesn’t like it, flips off my camera,” Rodriguez said. “And as soon as he flips off my camera, my security system goes off.”
Rodriguez said he rushed outside moments later and believes the suspects escaped in a maroon SUV.
“I almost caught him,” he said. “I came out and I could see the taillights in the car.”
The homeowner says break-ins have become a recurring problem in the neighborhood.
“It just gets tiresome,” Rodriguez said. “This street here has been hit so many times to the point now where I had to spend a little money and beef up my security.”
Rodriguez said his red Chevrolet pickup truck was burglarized in 2021, when someone stole a gun from inside the vehicle.
After posting the latest surveillance video to social media, Rodriguez said some of the reactions concerned him, including comments calling for violence against the suspect.
“‘The kid wouldn’t make it off my grass. This kid is gonna end up on a shirt,’” Rodriguez recalled reading online.
According to San Antonio Police Department data under the National Incident-Based Reporting System, there were 3,443 car burglaries reported between February and May of last year. During the same period in 2026, that number increased to 3,574.
Rodriguez says he hopes the suspects are caught before a future encounter turns dangerous.
“Sooner or later, if their luck runs out, they run across somebody who’s really stressed out,” he said. “Something really bad could happen, and that’s what I don’t want.”