Authorities are still looking for the suspects in both cases.
SAN ANTONIO — He is a 14-year-old who is tall for his age.
Maybe that’s why an armed robber targeted him as he walked away from Poe Middle School on Aransas Avenue on Monday afternoon as school was dismissed.
But the teen, who said his friends call him Guero, said what happened to him was a situation he tried his best to avoid.
“I just heard somebody out of nowhere saying, ‘Hey’ and screaming. I pretended like I didn’t hear nothing and I kept on walking,” Guero said. “But as he approached I turned around and he was already right in front of my face.”
The teen said the man demanded a chain he was wearing.
“He was like, ‘I’m gonna need that chain,’ and as soon as he said it he started reaching for his gun in his pocket. He pulled it out and made it known that he had a gun,” Guero said. “Once I saw that gun, I just gave him everything I had. And once I took off the chains, he was like, ‘I’m gonna need those rings too, everything you have.'”
Guero said when he gave the man everything he had, the gunman turned and ran to a gray or silver four-door sedan before it sped eastbound towards New Braunfels Avenue.
Gathering his wits after the ordeal, the teen said he called a relative for help and police arrived soon after.
“The police pulled up quickly and the investigators came and talked to me,” Guero said, adding he felt physically ill, “like my head was hurting and I was just still in a state of shock.”
While the teen said he felt better one day later, he still hopes detectives are able to make an arrest.
But Guero, it turns out, was the second San Antonio teen targeted by an armed robber in three days, after a high school student also reported to local authorities that he was robbed at gunpoint while walking home from school.
The 17-year-old’s mother, Cassandra Salazar, said she wants the person caught.
“My son comes bursting in the door, scared, eyes were huge,” Salazar said. “And he said, ‘Mom I just got robbed. I just got robbed. They pulled a gun on me.'”
Salazar said it happened on Friday evening. She said her son had gotten off the bus in their far west-side neighborhood and was walking home on Misty Plain Drive near Southern Sun.
“The guy was coming towards him on this direction,” Salazar said. “As soon as he walked by my son, he grabbed his chain. He just yanked it off of him.”
The mom said her son’s first reaction was to chase the guy, who was wearing a mask.
“(That’s when) the guy turns around and points a gun at him,” Salazar said. “And my son stops and he runs home.”
Soon after, the mom got in her car and started looking for any witnesses and surveillance videos.
“When it comes to my kids and other kids in this community, Mama Bear is full effect,” she said. “I just want my kids protected. It could have gone a different way.”
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office reports that the man, seen in surveillance videos, was dressed in all black. In one video, he can be seen running away.
“What I need for them to get out here and knock on these doors get more information, get this guy’s face so we can get him caught,” she said.
Salazar is concerned. She said there are at least six schools in the area and kids walk home all the time.
“I really want this person found and caught before he shoots a child, before he shoots somebody and kills them,” she said.
BCSO said the suspect was last seen running east on Southern Sun.
San Antonio Police have released few additional details in Guero’s case, meanwhile, beyond saying it’s an active investigation. Poe Middle School Principal Justin Watwood notified parents Tuesday of his incident in the following letter, offering advice about how to help keep children safe on the streets.
“We want to make you aware of an incident that occurred yesterday afternoon after dismissal and share the steps we are taking to ensure the safety of students coming to and from school. We learned today that a student reported being robbed of jewelry as the student waited to be picked up yesterday afternoon. The suspect fled in a car, and SAPD is investigating. Our SAISD officers are increasing their patrol around the school during arrival and dismissal times to enhance everyone’s safety.
“We want to make you aware of the situation so that you can have conversations with your children. We encourage students to walk in groups and to always be aware of their surroundings. We are asking them, and you, to immediately alert us when anything seems suspicious or out of the ordinary. We will always act to protect our students.
“Safety is a top priority at SAISD schools, and we want to keep families informed of situations as soon as we are able.”