Suspected gang-related violence in southeastern Dallas has resulted in an older woman’s home being riddled with over one hundred bullets.
Two shooting incidents in the past year have left 75-year-old Laverne Baker feeling like she is living in a war zone, as she explained to Fox 4 KDFW in a recent interview.
“You can’t live in peace. You never know when they are coming,” she said.
The latest shooting, which occurred in the early hours of July 11, was the worst one yet, Baker described.
“Bullet holes above your head, bullet hole over there, bullet hole where they shot my window out, and bullet holes through here where they hit my waterline… they shot out all my windows, and they shot my car,” she said.
Baker lives in Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7.
Although the incident reports obtained by Fox 4 from the Dallas Police Department (DPD) reportedly describe the drive-by shootings as “destruction of property” and “vandalism,” residents of the area suspect gangs were behind the crimes.
Lamont Levels, a former gang member living near Baker, referred to such reports as “misleading” since it seemed clear to him that local gangs were responsible.
“They put over 165 rounds into her house, that is unacceptable to me,” he added, per Fox 4.
DPD has boasted a decline in violent crime citywide; for instance, murders have dropped by 21.3% compared to last year as of June 13, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard. However, as extensively reported by The Dallas Express, certain categories of crime, such as assault offenses and drug violations, have gone up considerably in certain parts of town.
“I laugh about it because I know crime is not going down,” Levels said in reference to City officials’ claims, per Fox 4. “They don’t have gang problems where they live or where they lay their head at night, but there’s gang problems over here every night.”
Black and Hispanic individuals are vastly overrepresented among victims of violent crime in Dallas, accounting for a combined 93.7% of murder victims and 86.7% of aggravated assault victims so far this year, per the City of Dallas victim demographics dashboard. A similar trend was clocked in the City’s crime statistics last year, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
DPD has a unit dedicated to investigating gangs and tracking their activities. The department has also dedicated resources to trying to prevent Dallas youths from joining gangs and raising awareness among current gang members through initiatives such as the South Dallas Employment Project.
However, DPD has been grappling with a critical staffing shortage. It fields only around 3,000 officers despite a City report recommending closer to 4,000 to maintain prompt response times and public safety. The Dallas City Council also approved a budget of $654 million for DPD this fiscal year, significantly less than the spending on police seen in other high-crime municipalities, such as Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles.