Two men were arrested last week in connection to shootings at Air Force security personnel and the gate at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland last month, law enforcement officials in Texas have announced.
Joseph Jimenez, 19, and Ricardo Samaniego, 18, were identified as the alleged suspects connected to the shootings near the base, known as JBSA, according to the San Antonio Police Department’s Public Information Office. Both were arrested and charged with deadly conduct with a firearm, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said during a press conference Wednesday.
“Video evidence was found indicating Jimenez and Samaniego acted together to drive the stolen car around and fire multiple rounds into the direction of multiple houses in a near field by JBSA,” McManus said during the press conference.
The alleged crime happened early in the morning Aug. 17, McManus said. Suspects fired at the gate and the Air Force security personnel sometime after 2 a.m. and then once more around 4 a.m.
The base entrance was shut down for several hours due to the incident, but no military personnel were injured in those shootings, The Associated Press previously reported.
Shell casings and a vehicle seen in the area of the base that matched one stolen in the early morning of Aug. 17 were recovered by San Antonio Police, McManus said.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said during a press conference Wednesday that the Sheriff’s Office got involved in the case when there was a report of another shooting that occurred later in the evening on Aug. 17 during a child’s birthday party.
Salazar said several suspects, including Jimenez, were playing with a gun when Samaniego was hit by gunfire while holding an infant. The child was not injured.
Salazar said a shell casing from that incident was linked to the shootings at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. Authorities tied that casing to a handgun that had been modified with a “switch,” the Bexar County sheriff said during the press conference.
Salazar said his agency has charged Jimenez with deadly conduct and is “awaiting federal indictment for the illegal switch.”
The FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations assisted with the investigation, McManus added. It’s possible that more federal and state charges could be pending related to the alleged crimes, he added.
Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland is home to more than 24,000 active-duty service members, 10,000 Department of Defense civilians, and 11,000 contractors and family members, the base states on its website.
Related: Shootings Reported at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Between Guards and Passing Vehicle
