The morning drive to school is supposed to be one of the safest, most predictable parts of a family’s day. For 10-year-old Texas girl Alisa Gates, that routine turned into a fight for her life when a stranger’s anger on the road exploded into gunfire. She is now in critical condition after being shot in the stomach while riding in the back of her parents’ van, a jarring reminder of how quickly everyday traffic can turn deadly.
Investigators say the shooting started with a simple honk, a warning meant to avoid a crash, not start a gunfight. Within seconds, a bullet tore through the side of the family vehicle and into a child who was just trying to get to class. The case has shaken San Antonio and sparked fresh outrage over road rage violence and the ease with which a minor disagreement can escalate into life-altering trauma.
The split-second encounter that shattered a family’s morning
Alisa Gates was riding in the backseat of her parents’ van on the way to school in Texas when the driver in front of them backed out of a driveway without checking for traffic, according to police accounts shared in broadcast coverage of the case. Her mother hit the horn to avoid a collision on the residential Drive, a reflexive move any cautious driver would recognize. That brief blast of sound was enough, investigators say, to set off the other driver, who allegedly sped ahead and began a series of aggressive maneuvers that turned a near miss into a targeted attack.
Officers in SAN ANTONIO say the suspect’s vehicle pulled in front of the family and brake-checked them, then continued to shadow the van as it headed toward a busy intersection on the Northwest Side. The girl’s parents later told investigators that what followed unfolded in “maybe three seconds,” a blur they recounted in interviews shared through By Katrina Webber and other coverage. One moment they were waiting at a red light, the next a stranger was leveling a handgun at their van.
What police say happened at the light, and who is accused
According to an affidavit filed in the case, the confrontation escalated when the two vehicles stopped side by side at a red light. The document states the suspect pulled up alongside the family, pointed a handgun toward the van, and fired a single round into the passenger side. That bullet pierced the door and struck 10-year-old Alisa in the stomach as she sat in the backseat, a detail echoed in separate reporting that describes how the shot entered through the side of the van and hit the child in the abdomen The bullet. Investigators say the suspect’s own daughter was in his vehicle at the time, underscoring how many lives were put at risk in a matter of seconds.
Police have identified the alleged gunman as Bryan Arceo, who is accused of firing into the van after the girl’s mother honked at him. Authorities say he drove away from the intersection, but officers quickly began canvassing the neighborhood and gathering surveillance footage. A separate video report describes how the call for help came in around 7:30 in the morning and how officers tracked a suspect vehicle just blocks from the scene Suspect. Arceo now faces several charges tied to the shooting of the 10-year-old San Antonio girl, including allegations that he opened fire in response to nothing more than a horn.
A child in critical condition, a community on edge
After the shot rang out, Alisa’s parents rushed her to help as quickly as they could. Reports describe how the Texas girl was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after the bullet tore through the van door and into her abdomen Texas girl. Police have said she arrived in critical condition, and local briefings have repeatedly described her as “fighting for her life” after the road rage shooting on the city’s Northwest Side KTSA. Another summary of the case notes that the 10-year-old girl was critically injured in a San Antonio road rage incident, reinforcing just how severe her injuries are The Brief.
Her parents have shared that their daughter was simply on her way to school that Friday morning in Texas when the shooting happened, a detail repeated in multiple accounts that emphasize how routine the trip was before it turned violent Texas. One report notes that the family described the entire encounter, from honk to gunshot, as lasting about three seconds, a blink in which their lives were upended three seconds. Another account, shared through a separate station, repeats that the 10-year-old who was shot in the road rage incident was on her way to school, underscoring how ordinary the morning should have been parents say.
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