SAN ANTONIO – Shocked. Frustrated. Confused.
These were the emotions that Stephanie Garza, owner of Pup Pup & Away, felt after her business was randomly shot at around 2 a.m. on a Tuesday.
While Garza and her team are still cleaning up bullet debris that was left from the “drive-by style” shooting, she’s grateful that the dogs at the daycare and staff were safe and uninjured.
“When my staff came in at 6 a.m., I got a call from them saying that our front door has been shattered,” Garza said.
Garza told her team to leave the premises before the police arrived.
“Once an officer showed up and cleared the perimeter, of course, we went in and made sure the dogs were okay and nothing was stolen. Thankfully, no one was missing or harmed,” Garza said.
Following the all-clear from authorities and after filing a report with SAPD, Garza began investigating and discovered through their camera system and from a nearby neighbor that someone shot at her business. The shooting damaged the front door, windows, walls, and front desk.
“The video camera we have has a limited view, so you can only see the glass shattering,” Garza said.
Nearby businesses are now helping Garza with the investigation.
“Luckily, we have awesome neighbors, so we were able to get footage of the whole street, which captured an image of a white truck passing through,” Garza said.
The shooting confused Garza because she didn’t know if it was a personal or targeted attack on her business.
“Despite the frustration, confusion, and safety concerns around her staff and dogs following the shooting, Garza said she is staying strong and is appreciative of the outreach she has received from her community and customers.
When KSAT asked Garza if she’d seen customers leave their business because of the incident, she told us that customers have rallied behind her, but she understands if people may feel uncomfortable about leaving their dogs with them.
However, Garza wants customers to know that they are taking every precaution to make sure their dogs are safe and that the shooting isn’t going to scare them from continuing to operate their business.
Lastly, Garza had a message for the person or people who were responsible for the random shooting, and that is: “Just don’t.”
“Just don’t do what you’re doing. If this was kind of some initiation of some sort, find a different way,” Garza said. “Not to make this a victimless something, but especially small business owners, we all work really hard to stay afloat. Whenever you target a small business like us, this really does impact us and it can create a ripple effect around the community.”
Copyright 2024 by KSAT – All rights reserved.
