Arlington police have launched an investigation into an apparent triple homicide at the Chatham Green Village Apartments Thursday night.

The Arlington Police Department deployed officers to an apartment complex located in the 3500 block of Chatham Green Lane at around 8:30 p.m. after receiving reports of a male victim lying unresponsive outside of an apartment. He was taken to a nearby hospital for gunshot wounds, but he eventually died. Two other victims — a man and a woman — were found shot dead inside the apartment. Two young children were also in the apartment but were unharmed.

The names of the three victims have not yet been released, nor has their relationship to one another and to the children, who are now being cared for by a relative. Witnesses allegedly saw a man described as roughly five feet six inches tall and wearing all black fleeing the scene on foot, according to WFAA.

A preliminary investigation suggests that the killer busted through the apartment door and shot the victims. The Arlington Police Department, which has recently launched a new camera registry called “Connect Arlington,” hopes to find surveillance footage that can help identify the shooter.

“We really want to solve this crime. Just [a] very sad moment. Just senseless. Very sad and senseless, and we want to bring the family justice,” said Sgt. Courtney White, according to Fox 4 KDFW.

The murder rate in nearby Dallas rose by 15% last year compared to the year prior. So far in 2024, 12 criminal homicides had been logged as of January 25, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard. Most murder victims were either black or Hispanic males, and their median age was 25.5 years old.

Despite a City report recommending a force of 4,000 to ensure public safety, the Dallas Police Department fields only around 3,000 officers. Moreover, City officials have budgeted the department only $654 million this fiscal year, which is considerably less than what will be spent on law enforcement in other high-crime municipalities, such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

The impact of DPD’s longstanding staffing woes is apparent in comparative studies on crime in Downtown Dallas and nearby Fort Worth’s downtown area. Each month, the former logs around seven times more crime reports than the latter, which is patrolled by a specialized neighborhood police unit working with private security guards.