Megan Navarro
SAN MARCOS — The San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) is investigating four separate shootings that took place over the weekend and in doing so, chief Stan Standridge provided an update during a press conference held Monday, Nov. 3.
Saturday, Nov. 1
At 1:11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, SMPD officers responded to numerous calls of a shooting at Old Ranch Road 12 and Hughson Drive. Officers arrived on scene and canvassed the area.
Upon their arrival, officers learned that an unknown suspect, or suspects, fired a gun from a vehicle and into a wooded area, explained Standridge. While searching the area, two victims reported a bullet had gone through their apartment, the chief said, but “the victims did not feel like they, specifically, were targeted, so the motive behind this shooting is unknown.”
Officers seized seven bullet casings as evidence and this case is assigned to a detective, Standridge said.
Later Saturday night, an overnight officer was assigned to the downtown San Marcos Square in anticipation of large crowds in the bar district. Three others were also assigned there, but had not yet arrived.
At approximately 10:04 p.m., the officer was on the south side of the downtown courthouse investigating a reported robbery that had just occurred. While speaking to the victim, the officer heard multiple shots fired from the opposite side of the courthouse, on the Hopkins Street side, the chief said. He immediately ran to the area, while others were running away from one of the bars on Hopkins Street.
“The officer encountered a male victim who had been shot outside of this bar. As other officers arrived, they were told a second victim was inside of this same bar after having been shot outside,” Standridge said. “Within a few minutes, officers learned of yet another victim who was also shot, but he had fled to the opposite side of the courthouse.”
The first officer began CPR on one of the victims. The victim, identified as Ronnie Hernandez Jr., was eventually transported by EMS to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital and he was pronounced deceased at the hospital, Standridge said.
“We extend our sincere condolences to the Hernandez family. I cannot imagine their grief and I want them to know that we have worked nonstop to identify the shooter who has caused this homicide,” the chief said.
The second victim, who was found inside the bar, had been shot twice — in the stomach and shoulder. He was considered critical and he was taken by EMS to Ascension Seton Hays Hospital in Kyle and is expected to recover, the chief said.
The third victim was also shot twice, in the forearm and the waist. He was also taken to Seton Hays and is expected to recover.
According to the update given during the Nov. 3 press conference, Standridge said that SMPD has seized the vehicle that the two suspects were using. The suspects were described as two Black males who got into an Audi A3 vehicle that was parked near Kissing Alley.
“Video from the downtown fire station captured the getaway vehicle, which then led to extensive searches using license plate readers. The correct car was identified and located by police and is currently in our custody,” Standridge said.
“As more officers arrived on scene to provide medical aid and to secure the large crime scene, the bar district continued to operate,” Standridge said. “This caused significant issues as intoxicated patrons were coming into the clearly marked police area and fights were being reported at the various bars.”
By this time, officers and deputies from the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, Texas State University Police Department, Kyle Police Department and Buda Police Department were in the area assisting.
Simultaneously, calls from the rest of San Marcos had continued to come in and, at one point, there were 37 calls waiting, including some priority one calls, which required two officers being dispatched within two minutes.
“We simply did not have enough officers to effectively manage the large crime scene, continue bar operations and calls for service,” Standridge said.
Sunday, Nov. 2
At 1:18 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, Standridge communicated to the on-scene fire marshal and SMPD officers that he wanted all bars on the Square closed: “It should be noted that this dovetailed with time falling back, so, arguably, some would say that the bars were closed approximately two hours before their normal closing time. We are very thankful for their cooperation regarding this matter, as everyone seemed genuinely concerned of the events unfolding.”
Shortly after making the decision to close the bars, another shooting call was received at 1:23 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2. This time, it was at the 1600 block of Post Road at The Outpost apartment complex.
“We are forever thankful to the Hays County Sheriff’s [Office] as they made the scene first and summoned their crime scene team,” Standridge noted. “Also assisting was our regional Texas Ranger, who has always been a great resource for all law enforcement entities in Hays County. Eventually, San Marcos Police would arrive on scene and ultimately take lead on this investigation.”
A large fight occurred at the apartment’s pool and it was recorded, Standridge said. Detectives have a large suspicion on the shooter’s identity.
Multiple bullet casings were seized as evidence. A second suspect pistol-whipped another person, so SMPD is actively working to identify and arrest both individuals.
There was one known victim who was taken to CHRISTUS Santa-Rosa by friends; however, blood trails at the scene suggested that there may have been two victims.
Finally, at 1:51 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, more shots were fired downtown at the intersection of LBJ Drive and Hutchinson Street, which was only one block away from the ongoing homicide investigation, Standridge said during the press conference.
Officers were still on-scene investigating the first shooting. While still in the area, the officers heard the gunshots and observed the suspect fleeing the scene. They chased, tased and arrested the suspect, identified as Eliezer Johnson Hernandez. The firearm was eventually found behind one of the nearby businesses.
Along with sharing his appreciation for the law enforcement partners who assisted, Standridge stated his gratitude to the downtown businesses for their help and cooperation, as well as their “possession of good cameras,” because they were able to capture the downtown shooting from several different angles. It captured the shooting that left two people shot twice and one person shot either five or seven times, the chief stated.
The chief cautioned and stressed to the community that the shooter — involved in the first shooting in the downtown Square — is armed and dangerous.
“Video shows him shooting at the group of victims and once several fell to the ground, he then closed distance on at least two of them and shot them several more times while they lie on the ground,” he said.
SMPD does not know the motive or if there are any affiliations between the two groups of people, however, Standridge said, “What we do know is there was a group of five males walking in front of the bar on Hopkins Street and the before-mentioned Black males — there were two of them — something is said — we don’t know what because the video just captures video and not audio — whereupon one of the Black males goes to his friend and it looks like, based upon video evidence, retrieves a firearm from the other friend. He then goes back and reapproaches the five that were still in front of the bar and he begins shooting at all five, striking three of the five.”
Standridge reassured the community that SMPD takes these matters very seriously and additional officers — which would be a minimum of four, along with however many the university’s police department can provide — will be assigned downtown Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. They will be in addition to the officers providing primary police services on the streets of San Marcos.
“Our pledge is that this will continue going forward throughout this fiscal year. With that said, we all know, from experience, that when school is not in session that attendance in the bar district drops, so we will evaluate those on an as-needed basis,” the chief said. “But I want to reassure, because I am sure I have a lot of concerned parents all across the United States who are watching this unfold, that we will have officers assigned to the downtown bar district on nights that we anticipate large crowds.”
To listen to the full press conference, visit bit.ly/4olzrnN. Those who have information on the homicide that occurred in downtown San Marcos are urged to contact SMPD at 512-753-2108 or at www.sanmarcostx.gov/3881/Police.
