Police in Dallas logged a couple of murders this weekend, and it appears no suspects have been identified.
The first murder occurred in the 1000 block of Grigsby Avenue in Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2.
Officers responded to a call about a shooting Saturday night around 9:55 p.m. When they arrived, they discovered Brione Jacquil Spencer, 31, on the ground with at least one apparent gunshot wound, according to the Dallas Police Department’s crime blog.
Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) took Spencer to a local hospital, but he died from his injuries.
The investigation is ongoing. DPD encourages anyone with information about the criminal homicide to reach out to Det. Guy Curtis at (214) 671-3633 or [email protected].
A second murder was clocked several hours later at around 3:55 a.m.
Officers received another call about a shooting in the 3300 block of W. Pentagon Parkway in Council Member Zarin Gracey’s District 3.
“The preliminary investigation determined when officers arrived, they found 31-year-old Patrick Lee Island II lying shot on the ground,” DPD wrote about the murder.
DFR was dispatched, but the victim died at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing. Those with information about the incident can contact Det. Andrew Knoebel at (469) 849-3755 or [email protected].
There have been 116 murders logged in Dallas proper this year as of July 19, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard. The weekend’s murders bump that number up to 118.
DPD has been short-staffed for years, which has hampered its effectiveness in fighting crime.
Only around 3,000 officers are currently in the field, despite a prior City analysis advising that a force of roughly 4,000 is needed to police a jurisdiction the size of Dallas properly.
Meanwhile, the Dallas City Council approved a budget for DPD of only $654 million this fiscal year, which is considerably less taxpayer money allocated towards public safety than in other high-crime cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.