What's new with security at Fiesta San Antonio 2025
Fiesta San Antonio partygoers will see several new security measures this year amid high-profile incidents at large gatherings recently.
Why it matters: 2024 was the second year in a row that a free Fiesta event was marred by a shooting. Officials also pointed to the terrorist attack in New Orleans amid New Year's Eve celebrations this year.
What they're saying:"Because of the events that have been happening around the world (where) people are losing their lives — people driving into crowds, people shooting up in crowds — there was a lot of concern coming into this season," San Antonio police chief William McManus told reporters Monday.
"There's nowhere you'll be able to look at any Fiesta event and not see a police officer" this year, he added.
The big picture: Police "absolutely" have to be more aware of security at large events than in the past, McManus tells Axios.
Context: The shooting at the annual Fiesta de los Reyes event at Market Square last year left two people dead and four bystanders injured. In 2023, a man was shot and critically injured at the same event.
The New Year's Bourbon Street pickup truck attack this year killed 15 people and injured dozens more.
Zoom in: For the first time, organizers of every Fiesta event this year had to submit a crisis communications plan that outlined safety policies and protocol in the event that something goes awry, Trish DeBerry, CEO of Centro San Antonio, tells Axios.
Organizers of Fiesta de los Reyes at Market Square say they will:
Enforce a security perimeter with bag screening; in the past, partygoers could simply walk into Market Square.
Ensure bags are no larger than 12-by-6-by-12, and encourage clear bags. Backpacks and weapons are explicitly prohibited.
End the event earlier — hours now run until 10 or 11pm, rather than midnight.
Reality check: McManus says people will be turned away if they don't follow the bag policy.
Plus: The 130 ambassadors with Centro San Antonio, who are downtown 24-7, received "enhanced" security training ahead of Fiesta, DeBerry told reporters.
Centro also added safety administrators, who are retired or former police officers trained in de-escalation techniques.
And new downtown security cameras powered by artificial intelligence will be in effect during Fiesta, DeBerry added.
Between the lines: There will also be safety barriers in place meant to prevent vehicle attacks, McManus tells Axios, adding that the barriers were in place for this year's MLK March and NCAA Final Four events.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
9 hours ago
- Axios
Scoop: Cotton urges GOP senators to double down on fiery LA protests
Senate Republican leadership is urging senators to double down on condemning the chaotic protests that erupted over the weekend in Los Angeles, Axios has learned. Why it matters: Republicans are convinced they have a winning issue. " This gives us an opportunity to remind Americans how extreme the Democratic party is on immigration," Sen. Tom Cotton's office wrote to communications staff on Monday. "Americans have a choice between Republicans' law & order vs. the Democrats' car-burning, illegal alien rioters," the email, obtained by Axios, continues. Republicans see a political opening: "So far, every Senate Democrat who has spoken out has backed the rioters..." Zoom in: Republicans want to specifically target California Governor Gavin Newsom. The Cotton staffer encouraged Senate offices to paint Newsom as "the lead enabler of these riots." "What kind of governor blames police officers and the National Guard for 'inciting' this violence," Cotton wrote on X. Newsom is viewed as a likely formidable 2028 presidential candidate. Republicans also see it as an opportunity to remind voters that a key part of their sweeping "one, big beautiful bill" involves providing significant resources to ICE. The conversation around the bill has largely been focused on tax and spending cuts. Zoom out: President Trump deployed the National Guard over the weekend to help tamp down on the escalating protests — in spite of Newson's opposition. Trump has also threatened to arrest Newsom.
Axios
13 hours ago
- Axios
This crisis in Charlotte has killed 31 people in 2025
On a Friday in May, 73-year-old Bill Yoder was riding his recumbent bike, as the grandfather often did to maintain his independence. Traffic had backed up at the intersection of East Woodlawn Road that afternoon, halting a tractor-trailer in a fading crosswalk. Yoder attempted to move around the truck, as many cyclists might in that situation. But at the same time, the semi drove forward, striking Yoder. He died on the scene. The big picture: Charlotte's streets are becoming more dangerous, and Yoder's death has raised new alarm over the issue. Less than halfway into 2025, 31 people — including five cyclists and four pedestrians — have died in crashes, according to the city's latest data as of May 28. Including those that caused serious injury, there have been nine crashes involving cyclists this year — up from seven in 2024 and four in 2023. Only one case is reported for 2022 and 2021, each. What they're saying: Yoder was the father of a member of the Sustain Charlotte team, a nonprofit advocating for safer streets and overall smarter city growth. The organization is using his death to push for street improvements, arguing that traffic violence has become normalized. "If there was anything else happening in Charlotte that had caused 30 people to die, everybody would be talking about it," says Shannon Binns, Sustain Charlotte's executive director. The City of Charlotte has pledged to eliminate traffic deaths through the "Vision Zero" initiative it launched in 2019, investing millions in pedestrian crossings and hosting events to spread awareness of safe driving. Yes, but: There's no real goal or deadline for reaching zero. Charlotte doesn't have benchmarks for when it expects to reduce traffic fatalities, while the number of crashes is rising yearly. An internal audit, which Axios reported on last year, criticized the city for not executing the Vision Zero program effectively. Among the findings, it stated the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department was not concentrating enforcement efforts in areas with the most deaths and injuries. CMPD made 7,223 motor unit stops in 2024 — a 41% drop from 2023, according to the department's annual report. Chief Johnny Jennings has said there's "not as much time to go out and enforce traffic as there used to be," and more resources, such as red light and speed cameras, would help. Charlotte City Council has not formally discussed the audit results, but the Charlotte Department of Transportation says a Vision Zero plan update is slated for the coming year. It may introduce new strategies to reduce crashes. Of 73 actions outlined in the audit, 43 actions (59%) have been completed, according to CDOT. Sixteen actions (22%) are in progress, and a small batch has not started, "largely due to resource constraints or shifts in priorities." By the numbers: Charlotte has recorded 76 crashes with fatalities or serious injuries so far in 2025, the Vision Zero dashboard shows. Between the lines: It's hard to pinpoint what's causing the increases. Potential factors could be the return of commuting since the pandemic, Charlotte's fast population growth and clashing driving styles from different regions, and reduced traffic enforcement. Exceeding the speed limit is the top contributing factor for Charlotte crashes, per the city's dashboard. What they're saying: Sustain Charlotte's Binns says city leaders aren't discussing the issue as much as they should. He calls it "a matter of political will." "If you are intentional about how you design your city and your mobility network, you can really almost eliminate these deaths and serious injuries," he says. "But you have to be intentional, and you have to be committed. They're not just going to go away." Zoom in: The intersection where Yoder died is flagged alarm-color red in the city's High Injury Network, a map of corridors with high rates of fatal and serious crashes. Despite being close to Sugar Creek Greenway and attracting many bikers and pedestrians, the area lacks dedicated bike lanes. CMPD is still investigating Yoder's May 9 crash. Once the crash report is complete, CDOT says it will conduct an engineering investigation to determine if improvements, like more markings or signs, are needed at East Woodlawn Road and Park Road. At the least, Binns suggests the city should add more paint and fresh bollards to create space between bikes and cars in problem areas. Those improvements would be quicker and less expensive than concrete changes. A more expensive but impactful option is "road diets," like the one starting soon on Matheson Avenue near NoDa. A 0.6-mile stretch, between North Tryon Street and Jordan Place, is being transitioned from four lanes to two to slow down cars and make the route safer for bikers and walkers. It's a $12.9-million undertaking. What's next: Mecklenburg County is working toward putting a 1-cent sales tax referendum on this November's election ballot. If passed, the tax would generate an estimated $19.4 billion over 30 years for transportation projects, not including potential federal matching dollars.
Axios
17 hours ago
- Axios
Local cops are making Florida an immigration enforcement hot spot
Efforts to arrest and remove unauthorized immigrants appear most aggressive in Florida and other southern states with Democratic-leaning cities, according to an Axios analysis. Why it matters: Our review of removal orders, pending deportation cases and agreements between immigration officials and local law enforcement agencies sheds light on where the Trump administration is dispatching resources to support its mass deportation plan. The analysis shows local law enforcement agencies in Texas and Florida have been most cooperative with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in rounding up immigrants through deals known as 287 (g) agreements. There are 629 such agreements now in place across the country. About 43% of them are in Florida. Zoom in: Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on the state's harshest immigration reform yet. The sweeping law directs local governments to partner with federal immigration efforts while broadening the reasons cops can detain immigrants and narrowing protections for undocumented crime victims and witnesses. Policies that impede immigration enforcement are now barred in Florida, and sheriffs must also share inmates' immigration status with ICE. Noncompliance can result in fines and suspension. The result: Recent raids in Florida by a coalition of agencies led to 1,120 arrests in an effort dubbed Operation Tidal Wave. Of the 42,000 removals of immigrants ordered in March, nearly 50% involved people in Texas, California, New York, Virginia and Florida, according to an analysis of data from the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). The big picture: The data analyzed by Axios and the locations of the agreements between federal and local authorities reflect a few simple truths about immigration enforcement across the U.S. There aren't nearly enough federal agents to meet President Trump's unprecedented deportation goal of deporting a million immigrants a year. In some places where the Trump administration faces a gap in resources, local law enforcement agencies are unable or unwilling to meet the feds' demands or expand beyond their usual enforcement duties. With the nation's borders essentially locked down, the administration has shifted much of its deportation operations to the nation's interior. National Sheriffs' Association executive director and CEO Jonathan Thompson said some sheriffs are concerned that their departments could undermine their communities' trust by working with ICE. The other side: Trump border czar Tom Homan, a former ICE director, told Axios he rejects the notion that working with immigration officials can undermine the community's trust in local authorities.
