On March 20, WFAA reported “there have been 62 homicides this year, that’s a 35% increase from the same time last year.” That chilling statistic included the March 12 quadruple homicide in a Dallas apartment that police suspect was related to a custody dispute.
On Monday, The Dallas Morning News reported that in March the city had seen an elevated number of homicides, noting “at a rate of more than one killing per day, March marked one of Dallas’ deadliest months in years.”
Perhaps most notably in March, a single week witnessed 13 fatal shootings, with the victims ranging in age from 11 to 61. The shooting deaths from March 9 through March 13 in Dallas included 37-year-old Rickey Gossett and 30-year-old Danielle Jones, who were gunned down outside of Bitter End in Deep Ellum.
January through March provided a head-scratching scenario in crime in Dallas. CBS 11 reported that violent crime was down in Dallas over the first three months of 2023 compared with the same time last year, but murders still showed a “surging jump.”
According to the Violent Crime Reduction Plan Update provided to the city’s public safety committee on Monday, murders from January to March 2023 represented an increase of 29.21% over the first three months of 2022. The presentation noted “the rate is being driven by crimes with conflict/arguments.”
Following the Violent Crime Reduction Plan Update, Dallas City Council member Cara Mendelsohn expanded on the observation that conflict escalation is helping to push murder numbers higher by tweeting, "Walk Away & Win - we need to come together & teach people that it is STRENGTH that allows someone to walk away and deescalate a conflict."
Walk Away & Win - we need to come together & teach people that it is STRENGTH that allows someone to walk away and deescalate a conflict. WEAK people continue an argument and allow it to escalate. Although violent crime is down, murders +29% @CityOfDallas. @DallasPD @DallasMayor pic.twitter.com/VOlPBcyaEQ
— Cara Mendelsohn (@caraathome) April 10, 2023
The killing hasn’t slowed down much in April, with several shooting deaths already reported through the first week and a half of the month. Murders have been occurring nearly daily in April, with shootings taking place in the Koreatown district, Red Bird, northwest Dallas and Ledbetter in West Dallas. On April 5, 17-year-old Omarian Frazier was shot and killed near the West End DART station downtown.
During Monday’s City Hall presentation on violent crime, Dallas police Chief Eddie Garcia didn't seem to have many answers for why this year’s murder numbers have been high or what can help bring them down soon. He assured the committee, however, that his force would keep searching for answers.
“When you look at our murder category,” Gracia said, “it’s something we’ve been challenged with really every year with regards to moving the needle on that and making sure that we have less victims. One victim is too many, and so we’ll continue to work hard. The department’s not gonna quit and we're continue to provide safety for our community.”
