SAN DIEGO — San Diego Police say there is increased police presence in Hillcrest and surrounding neighborhoods this weekend after a series of pellet gun attacks outside several LGBTQ bars last Saturday.
Police say they’re investigating the attacks as possible hate crimes. The people who did it have not been caught, but that’s not keeping many people, including one of the victims, from hanging out in Hillcrest this weekend.
“We need our safe spaces. We need our clubs. We need our place to congregate. Rich's isn't just a bar, and I'm not just a gay guy,” said Eddie Reynoso, a longtime LGBTQ activist and employee at Rich’s Nightclub.
Surveillance video shows Reynoso getting shot outside Rich’s, where he’s worked for more than a decade. His coworker, Abel, was also shot. Reynoso said he actually saw the newer black vehicle that drove by and said someone in the backseat had the gun.
“And I’m watching that person brace themselves and lift a gun. Then you hear the sound of gunfire and it’s rapid succession. Pop pop pop,” Reynoso said.
Reynoso was hit in the eye by a gel pellet. Doctors told him a millimeter closer, and he could have lost his vision. He showed CBS 8 his right eye, still bloodshot red a week later. He said he could have been blinded, and when he first saw the person pull out the gun and heard the shots, he thought he would be killed.
Police say Rich’s is one of four LGBTQ bars hit May 18 shortly after midnight. They say the shooter also fired at “The Rail”, “Number One”, and “Pec’s Bar” in North Park. Detectives are looking at them as a possible hate crime. Reynoso believes they are.
“Some of the bars that were hit aren’t necessarily known," Reynoso said. "They’re known to the community, but you’d have to do your research. Especially to plan a path so that a passenger in the rear seat has a clear shot.”
Reynoso is part of SDPD’s LGBTQ+ Community Advisory Board. He said he trusts the police department is taking the shootings seriously. Even though it was a pellet gun, and no one was killed, next time they might not be so lucky.
He feels nervous about being back where it happened, but he must keep doing what he does to stand up against hate and violence toward his community.
“It's ok to come out here. It's ok to be afraid. I’m not ok. I know that, but I'm ok with that,” he says.
Nationally, FBI statistics show hate crimes against the LGBTQ community have been on the rise.
In 2022, attacks based on gender identity were up 32.9% compared to the year before.
Crimes based on sexual orientation were up 13.8%.
CBS 8 spoke with Pride San Diego's interim director Jen Labarbera earlier this week. Labarbera said the attack was "alarming, but not all that surprising."
"Our community is not a stranger to being targeted by violence, whether that is intentional because of who we are or whether this was not actually hate motivated. We don't have that answer yet," said Labarbera.
San Diego Pride has reached out to everyone impacted by Saturday’s attacks to ensure they're ok.
So far, no arrests have been made.
San Diego Police told CBS 8 that its Western Division added additional patrols to the Hillcrest area this week.
With San Diego Pride less than two months away, Labarbera said this highlights the need for safety, which has always been their main priority.
WATCH RELATED: Several people were shot by a pellet gun outside of LGBTQ bars