SAPD

The state’s top auto theft detectives are meeting in San Antonio this week and have a list of tips for owners of certain vehicles.

Lt. Paul Heitzmann of the San Antonio Police Department said auto theft is a sophisticated operation these days. Thieves also are looking inside your vehicle for paperwork that can give them a chance to steal your identify.

"Auto crime is now an organized criminal activity. It is no longer just a crime of opportunity," he said. 

From the senseless deaths of children in Newtown, Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary, to the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado, high-profile tragedies involving guns never cease to shock people across the nation.

The debate has sparked dialogue on whether the problem is guns, or the people behind them.

Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau said she believes mental illness is an issue that needs to be thoroughly examined.

The newest class of San Antonio police cadets wasted no time getting to work, heading out on the job directly after walking the stage at their graduation ceremony.

The class, known as 2012-B, which began training late last year, graduated Friday at the Lila Cockrell Theatre downtown.

39 police cadets spent eight months going through intense training, saying it was both mentally and physically challenging.

But graduation day is a time for pride and celebration.

Nearly 300 Edison High School students got hands-on experience with triage and search-and-rescue on Monday morning. A simulated school bus "explosion" was part of a four-hour training exercise at the Public Safety Magnet school. The students played the role of first responders.

It's a scenario that no one wants to see happen: An I.E.D. explodes on an SAISD school bus, injuring several dozen students--followed by a second blast a few minutes later.