A fatal stabbing in the heart of Oak Cliff on Wednesday morning left one man dead and another injured.
At approximately 10:45 a.m., Dallas police were dispatched to the 4500 block of Village Fair Drive following reports of a stabbing behind a business. The responding officers discovered a male victim who ultimately died of his injuries at the scene, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Another man, later identified as Jarrod Martin, 39, was transported to a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries presumably sustained in the fight.
Investigators later arrested Martin on a murder charge, accusing him of stabbing the other man to death. No motive has been suggested by authorities, nor has the murder victim’s identity been disclosed.
Martin is currently being held on a bond of $1 million in Dallas County jail.
The incident occurred in District 4, which is represented by Council Member Carolyn King Arnold.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, criminal homicides across Dallas have been on the rise. As of November 9, the number of murders seen citywide hit 215, marking a year-over-year increase of nearly 13%, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard.
The Dallas Police Department has struggled to rein in crime amid ongoing staffing woes. This is especially true in Downtown Dallas, where significantly higher crime rates are logged compared to the downtown area of Fort Worth, which is reportedly patrolled by a designated neighborhood police unit working alongside private security guards.
DPD currently has fewer than 3,200 sworn personnel, roughly 800 less than the 4,000 recommended by a City analysis. Dallas residents have reported feeling the effects of a diminished police force. Polling by The Dallas Express found that 90% of those surveyed said DPD “does not employ enough police officers to maintain city safety.”