A man allegedly shot a boy Wednesday evening at a home just southeast of the intersection of Interstate 635 and US 75 in northeast Dallas.
The victim is 13 years old, and he was hospitalized in critical condition last night, but the Dallas Police Department (DPD) told local media that his condition was upgraded to stable by Thursday morning, according to WFAA.
Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a man identified by police as Randy Edwards, 53, on a single charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, per Fox 4.
It is unclear whether Edwards is in custody, but a WFAA video news update claimed that police are still looking for the man.
In a statement to The Dallas Morning News, DPD said, “The investigation is ongoing but detectives do not believe the shooting was random. The suspect and victim were known to one another.”
The shooting occurred on the 8400 block of Ellery Drive, the same block where court records suggest one Randy Edwards Jr. resides. This Edwards has allegedly accumulated more than $1,800 in toll violations, but it is unclear whether he is the one wanted in the 13-year-old’s shooting.
The incident unfolded in the Hamilton Park neighborhood in City Council District 10, represented by Councilman Adam McGough.
In this same district, another shooting occurred in the 9100 block of Skillman Street in late January. The victim, an unnamed male, was shot multiple times. He was later pronounced dead at an area hospital despite first responders’ attempts to revive him at the scene.
DPD arrested 20-year-old Maliki Brown in connection with the shooting. Brown stands accused of capital murder, as The Dallas Express reported.
These shootings are just two of the latest in a wave of violent incidents sweeping Dallas, unchecked by City leaders, following the beginning of the new year.
As of Wednesday, aggravated assaults were up 12.31% and murders were up 18.18% year-to-date. Overall, violent crime incidents, which also include robberies and sexual assaults, spiked by 6.3% in the first several weeks of 2023 compared to the same period of time last year, according to a DPD briefing.
