San Antonio police chief, Bexar County DA blame city's rising crime on Texas' open-carry gun law

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus and Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales on Tuesday told North Side residents that the city's rising crime rate is largely due to Texas' lax gun laws. "There are more aggravated assaults with a firearm, more complaints about gunfire and more people accidentally shooting themselves than ever before that I can remember — and I've been around for a long time," McManus told the crowd of more than 100 at a town hall hosted by District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez. San Antonio's homicide rate jumped nearly 55% between January 2022 and January 2023, according to the San Antonio Police Department's annual Uniform Crime Reports.