San Antonio police are seeking the public’s help to identify a man accused of repeatedly hitting a woman while she walked her dog near the Blue Star Arts Complex in Southtown. The reported attack happened around 11 p.m. on Oct. 28 in the 400 block of Blue Star, according to investigators.
The department released a video that police say shows the suspect and asked anyone who recognizes him to come forward. Investigators described him as tall and heavy-set, with tattoos on his left forearm. He was last seen in a black button-up shirt and black pants, wearing a gold watch. Police also believe he has an injury to his left hand.
After the attack, the man ran down East Cevallos Street near the Southtown Flats Apartments, investigators said. Police are asking anyone with information about the suspect shown in the video to call SAPD at (210) 207-7432 as they work to establish his identity.
The incident has drawn concern from neighbors who regularly use the path near the arts complex. Residents walk their dogs and jog along the route, portions of which follow the River Walk. For Caitlin Wells, who said she walks there every day, learning about the attack has prompted closer attention to her surroundings when she takes her dog out.
Wells said she already had concerns about encountering people along the route during early morning hours before daylight. Following the attack last month, she said she has become more diligent about staying aware while using a path that is part of her daily routine.
Another neighbor, Joe Richardson, said hearing about the attack frightened him. “You don’t really hear about stuff like that too often,” Richardson said, describing his reaction to the reported incident near the Southtown walking route.
Neighbors also questioned the lighting along the path. Although light poles line the route, residents said illumination remains a problem, particularly in the area leading toward Brackenridge High School. Their concerns include lights along the River Walk that they say do not consistently work.
Wells said the outages leave sections of the route extremely dark. “Some of them work and then a lot of them don’t,” she said of the River Walk lights. When those lights are out, she said, “it’s pitch black out here.”
