Neighbors scared, in shock after innocent woman killed in west Bexar County drive-by shooting

SAN ANTONIO – A far west Bexar County neighborhood was rattled by dozens of gunshots and the death of a young woman.

The medical examiner’s office identified the woman late Tuesday night as 25-year-old Novita Brazil.

Two young teens were taken into custody in connection with the shooting early Tuesday morning in the 11400 block of Bald Mountain Drive, but that hasn’t calmed the fears of people who live in the area.

“I jumped — me and my wife — I pushed her to the back, and I’m like, ‘Hey, we got to get down to the floor.’ We didn’t know what was happening,” said Mario Flores.

Flores has lived on Bald Mountain Drive since January and never witnessed what he saw and heard early Tuesday.

“It lasted for 1 minute to 2 minutes straight of just what sounded like pistols and mixed shotgun fire,” said Flores.

Investigators with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office say more than 100 rounds were fired into the home. Investigators also determined the shooters targeted the wrong home, killing an innocent 25-year-old woman and injuring another.

“You have to be a special somebody to do something so malicious, to drive out of your way, take a car, steal some guns and commit such a heinous act,” Flores said.

Flores heard a car speed down the street and believes the shooters opened fire and circled back around before shooting at the house again.

“We haven’t had these kinds of situations. It’s the first time, so we are in shock. We are, like, scared for everyone,” said Abde Acosta.

Acosta lives a few houses down from where the shooting happened, and the first thing that went through her mind was the safety of her baby and husband.

“I ran to my baby’s room and stayed there. My husband went running to the room, asking how we were,” said Acosta.

Acosta was shocked when she learned the suspects were potentially as young as 14 and 15.

“It’s sad because they’re young. They have no respect for anybody, not even for themselves,” said Acosta. “I was scared that it could happen again or they were walking around.”

Flores now questions the neighborhood’s safety and why someone would do this to an innocent person.

“You’re working on your computer late at night trying to get some stuff done, and just like that, you’re taken, so it makes me question a lot,” said Flores. “The fact that she was 25 and, you know, she’s taken too soon.”

Bexar County sheriff’s investigators have not said what charges the suspects will face.