SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Police Department says a string of pellet gun attacks over the weekend are possible hate crimes.
Four of the five shootings happened outside LGBTQ bars early Saturday morning. Surveillance footage showed a car driving through Hillcrest shortly after midnight.
Someone in the back of what police describe as a "newer" black vehicle, then starts shooting pellets at people in front of several bars.
In all, three people were hit, including one person in the eye, who required minor surgery.
"I'm seeing someone hold what looks like an 85 AK 47 out of a window, and everyone's ducking. And then suddenly, I get hit directly in the eye. And, I feel something kinda like explode almost like something popped," said Rich's employee Eddie Reynoso.
Rich's is one of four LGBTQ bars targeted.
According to San Diego Police, the shooter fired gel pellets at "The Rail," "Number One" and "Rich's Nightclub" in Hillcrest.
They also hit 'Pecs Bar' in North Park, as well as a man walking with his wife in old town.
The bar shootings are being considered possible hate crimes.
"It was alarming, but not all that surprising,” said Jen Labarbera is an interim co-director of Pride San Diego.
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%.
Labarbera says San Diego is no exception.
"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 CBS8, that its Western Division has added additional patrols to the Hillcrest area and will continue doing so in the coming days.
With San Diego Pride less than two months away, Labarbera says this highlights the need for safety, which has always been their main priority.
So is taking a stand against violence of any kind.
"What we can imagine is that the intention was to create fear to instill fear in our community in the folks that are frequenting these places. And my message is just that we are not going to be afraid. We are not going to be cowed. We are not going to be any less proudly queer, trans, non-binary than we are every single day," said Labarbera.
If you have any information, you are urged to call San Diego Police.
WATCH RELATED: Several people were shot by a pellet gun outside of LGBTQ bars