Violence shakes ‘cleaned up’ neighborhood

By Cydney Cappello (contact)

Monday, Jan. 12, 2009 | 5:40 p.m.

UPDATED STORY: Patient who shot doctor had complained of care

Residents and workers along the West Charleston Boulevard corridor were surprised and saddened Monday to hear about nearby violence that had taken place earlier in the day.

Metro Police said Dr. Edna Almaden Makabenta was shot and killed by a patient, 80-year-old Eliseo Santos, at her medical office at 2511 W. Charleston Blvd. Santos then turned the gun on himself.

Police said Monday they have no motive in the shooting.

“We haven’t had anything like that over there,” said Carol Jimerson, owner of A New Beginning Hair Center at 2400 W. Charleston Blvd., across the street from where the shooting took place. “Normally it’s pretty quiet.”

Jimerson said she’s felt safe in the area in the five years she’s been in business and has stayed at work until the early morning hours with no problems.

“We haven’t had any problems like this before,” she said. “It’s just shocking that it happened here.”

Down the street, Brianne Baker stood outside dressed as Lady Liberty promoting Liberty Income, just as she does every Monday and Thursday. She was surprised to hear the news of the murder-suicide and said safety is one of the reasons she lives in the area.

“I’ve been here for eight years and it really has cleaned up a lot,” she said. “It’s a lot safer than before.”

Across the street, two of Makabenta’s patients who had 11 a.m. appointments stood outside the office staring blankly and wiping their noses with tissues as police searched a car in the parking lot.

“We just saw her Friday at Texas Station. She was waiting for her sister to watch a movie and I saw her also Thursday for an appointment with my mother,” Nita Reinhard said.

Reinhard and her husband, Eddie Morgan, met at the offices for his appointment. She said even her mother went to Makabenta for medical care. Nita Reinhard has been seeing Makabenta for 10 years.

“She’s a very good person, a very good doctor, a thorough doctor,” Nita Reinhard said. “You could count on her every time you called, she’d call me right back.”