(Seguin) – An 18-year-old woman was shot and killed Monday afternoon at Seguin’s Park West.
Seguin Police Chief Terry Nichols says the victim has been identified as Maekalyn Ann Marie Smith, of Seguin. The incident was reported at 2:30 p.m. Monday near the basketball courts located along San Antonio Avenue.
A 19-year-old man, who was with Smith at the time, was also shot and transferred to a hospital for what are described as non-life threatening injuries.
Chief Nichols says the search for the shooter is now underway and is asking for anyone who was witness to the crime or who may know the suspect to come forward as soon as possible. He says detectives believe that this shooting was the latest in a rash of drive by shootings and other shots fired calls reported in the city over the last two weeks.
Nichols says he does confirm that the shootings are being conducted by a group of teenagers who are driving around town shooting at each other.
He estimates that between the two groups, there is a total of 15 teenagers. He says at this time, they still don’t have a motive as to why the shootings have been occurring or even what led to the disagreement between both groups.
Nichols says they were hoping to put an end to the shootings before a life was taken and says obviously today that did not happen.
Nichols again is asking that folks come forward with information. He says he knows that the people involved and the people who know them have the answers as to who fired the shots.
As for the victim, she is described as a young mother who had finished school but who was waiting to walk the stage this summer.
As for the park, Nichols wants to ensure the public that this was a targeted incident, and it was not a random act of violence. He says Park West is a crown jewel in the community and does not want the shooting to promote fear among local families. Those words were also echoed today by Seguin City Manager Steve Parker who says that the park does have cameras set up in the area and hopes that it might contain information that can be useful to solve this crime.
Approximately one hour after the shooting at Park West, another call for shots fired was also reported in the 1300 block of Mockingbird Lane. No injuries were reported in that incident. But again, Nichols says it is believed that these two incidents are possibly related.
Anyone with information on today’s shooting is asked to contact the Seguin Police Department at 830-379-2123. To remain anonymous, they may also call the Guadalupe County Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-877-403-8477.