Franky Garza, 24, had just moved from Carrizo Springs before he was shot outside a west Bexar County apartment.
SAN ANTONIO, TX — A 24-year-old man who had just moved to the San Antonio area for a new start was shot and killed May 6 outside an apartment on Potranco Road, leaving his family asking who killed him and why.
Franky Garza was found unresponsive at the Sienna at Westover Hills apartment complex in the 11800 block of Potranco Road after deputies were called for a report of an injured or sick adult. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting as a homicide. No suspect had been taken into custody as of the latest reports from local officials and family members.
Deputies were called to the complex shortly after 10:40 p.m. May 6 after a 911 caller reported that a man appeared to be passed out near a residence door. When deputies arrived, they found Garza with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Medics tried life-saving measures, but Garza was pronounced dead at the scene. His mother, Erica Garza, said her son called her shortly before he died. “Frank said he’s been shot,” she said. “I could hear him breathing very heavy.”
Garza had lived in Carrizo Springs with his mother before coming to San Antonio. His family said he moved May 4 and was staying temporarily with a friend while looking for his own place. Relatives said he had hoped the move would give him a fresh start and a chance to build a new life. Family members said he also dreamed of starting a business with his father. By the time deputies found him, he had been in the city only a short time.
Relatives said Garza had left with someone he had recently met and went to an apartment in the same complex before the shooting. Family members said that unit was in Building 6. Investigators found him near a doorway, and family members said they still do not know whether the person he left with was present when the shooting happened. The sheriff’s office has not publicly named a suspect, released a motive or said whether detectives believe Garza was targeted.
The case has added pressure to a family that is trying to follow the investigation from outside San Antonio. Erica Garza said the family has been calling investigators for updates and asking whether anyone has been arrested. She described her son as caring, easygoing and loved by many people. Relatives said he was the youngest in the family and his mother’s only son. His sister, Alexis Ivy, said the family wants justice and answers for a killing that has left them stunned.
The sheriff’s office told local reporters it had received 46 calls for service at the Sienna at Westover Hills complex so far in 2026. During the same period in 2025, from Jan. 1 to May 8, the agency received 61 calls for service there. Officials did not say that those calls were tied to Garza’s death. The sheriff’s office also said it had investigated five murders so far in 2026, with two cases, including Garza’s, having no suspect in custody at the time of the report.
Garza’s death was first reported as deputies worked to determine what had happened at the apartment complex on the far West Side. The initial call did not report a shooting victim by name, but an injured man who appeared unconscious near a residence. Deputies later identified Garza and opened a homicide investigation. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office and sheriff’s investigators were involved in the case, which remained active as family members prepared funeral services.
Family members said Garza loved sports and especially basketball. They described him as a young man with many friends and a generous heart. Erica Garza said the call from her son came while she was about two hours away. She said she could hear that he was struggling to breathe. “He couldn’t breathe right, like he couldn’t catch his breath right,” she said. Ivy said the family is left with one question: “Why did it have to come to this?”
A public funeral for Garza was planned at Leonard Funeral Home on Tuesday and Wednesday after the shooting. Investigators continued to work leads in the homicide while relatives waited for news of an arrest. The sheriff’s office said the person responsible had not been identified publicly, and the case remained open.
Author note: Last updated May 14, 2026.