Dallas police are investigating a shooting that happened Thursday evening in a church parking lot.
A man was hospitalized after sustaining non-life-threatening injuries after shots were fired in a walkway outside the gymnasium of the parochial school at Lakewood Presbyterian Church, located in the 7000 block of Gaston Avenue.
The shooting occurred at approximately 8 p.m. Dallas Fire-Rescue gave first aid to the victim, and officers from the Dallas Police Department took the suspected shooter into custody.
As relayed by Rev. Brad C. Denton, pastor of Lakewood Presbyterian Church, the incident occurred on the backend of an argument “of a private and personal nature” between two adults, per WFAA. The two individuals had attended the annual school Christmas program. Lakewood Presbyterian Church provides schooling to children from kindergarten through grade 12, according to the church’s website.
When the two individuals exited the school’s gymnasium, an argument broke out that escalated into violence. Denton said that once shots were fired, armed church personnel “acted decisively to engage and contain the attacker.”
The school was closed on Friday in light of the incident and will not convene again until after Christmas break. Denton said that counseling material for children would be distributed among parishioners.
The shooting occurred in District 9, which Council Member Paula Blackmon represents.
Violent crime in Dallas has dipped since DPD rolled out its campaign targeting violent crime hot spots; however, paradoxically, murders are up compared to last year, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. As of December 14, 24,753 assaults were logged by the City, marking a decline from the year prior of 8.4%, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard. Meanwhile, 235 murders have been recorded for a year-over-year rise of 13.5%.
DPD has been laboring under a significant staffing shortage, with only around 3,000 officers currently in its ranks despite a City report recommending 4,000. The effects of this shortfall are apparent in Downtown Dallas, which also has a considerable vagrancy problem. When compared to the downtown area of Fort Worth, which is patrolled by a specialized police unit and private security guards, Downtown Dallas sees significantly higher rates of violent crime and theft.