A 5-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl were among the wounded, police said.
SAN ANTONIO, TX — An 18-year-old man was killed and five other people were wounded late July 4 when gunfire broke out at an East Side apartment complex, San Antonio police said.
The shooting added a deadly turn to the holiday night in a residential area near Lamar and North Mittman streets. Police said officers found multiple people with gunshot wounds outside the complex and later learned people also had been hit inside a residence. No arrests had been announced as of Sunday, and investigators were still working to determine what led to the gunfire.
Police said the shooting was reported around 10:45 p.m. Saturday in the 1700 block of Lamar Street. Officers arrived at the apartment complex and found several wounded people outside the building. The San Antonio Fire Department and emergency medical workers also responded and took the victims to local hospitals. The 18-year-old man was later pronounced dead at a hospital. San Antonio police said in a preliminary report that several people walking near the area began firing rounds at a residence, striking people inside and outside. The department said the surviving victims were taken to hospitals in critical but stable condition.
The wounded included a 5-year-old girl, a 12-year-old girl, a 41-year-old woman, a 22-year-old man and another person whose identity had not been released. Police did not release the name of the man who died. Officials also had not released the names of the wounded or said whether they lived at the complex, were visiting or were outside for holiday gatherings. The gunfire happened while people were still outside in the neighborhood on the Fourth of July. Police said one early account described three people walking before firing toward the apartment complex. Investigators also said there may have been an exchange of gunfire, but they had not confirmed the full sequence of shots.
The apartment complex sits on the East Side near homes, streets and neighborhood gathering spots that were active during the holiday night. Police said the first information from the scene came from witnesses and people officers found after the shooting. That account remained preliminary Sunday. Officials said it was still unknown what led to the shooting, including whether the residence was targeted, whether the victims were intended targets or whether the gunfire grew from a dispute. The shooting drew a large response from police, firefighters and medics because of the number of people hurt, including two children under 13.
Several people were detained for questioning after the shooting, police said, but no formal arrests had been made in the most recent police update. One police post said one person taken to a hospital was believed to be a suspect, another suspect was in custody and a third suspect remained at large. A later preliminary report said only that individuals had been detained for investigative purposes and did not confirm all of those details. Police said investigators were continuing to review witness statements, evidence from the scene and the path of the gunfire before deciding what charges, if any, would be filed.
The shooting left neighbors and first responders dealing with a chaotic scene near the end of the holiday. Officers found wounded people outside the apartment building as medics moved through the area to reach victims and transport them. Police said some people had been struck inside the residence, showing that bullets passed into areas where people may not have been part of the conflict. The presence of two young girls among the wounded became one of the clearest signs of the shooting’s reach. Authorities gave no public update Sunday on the children’s exact conditions beyond saying the surviving victims were critical but stable.
The investigation remained active Sunday, with police still seeking the cause of the shooting and the full roles of those detained. The next major update is expected to come from San Antonio police as detectives confirm suspect information, victim conditions and possible charges.
Author note: Last updated July 6, 2026.