A recent string of homicides has officially made November a more lethal month than October, as three killings over the weekend continued the upward trajectory of the city’s murder rate.
As of Sunday, November 27, 12 street murders have been logged by the Dallas Police Department (DPD), a 100% increase over the six that had occurred last month through October 27, according to a report. Furthermore, murders within the city limits reached 178 year-to-date, more than 4% over the 171 murders clocked at this time last year.
The rash of weekend murders occurred in the pre-dawn hours of November 27.
Officers responded to the first call around 12:30 a.m., where they found two female victims suffering from gunshot wounds in a parking lot in the 3600 block of North Buckner Boulevard (District 7). One of them died at an area hospital, as previously reported in The Dallas Express. Authorities have yet to release the name of the deceased.
Roughly one hour later, police responded to a call at a hospital about a man who had come in with gunshot wounds. Garland resident and father-of-three Jose De La Rosa, 36, was traveling eastbound on the 3400 block of South Great Trinity Forest Way (District 5). A black vehicle pulled up alongside De La Rosa, and someone inside the car fired a gun at him, hitting him at least once.
De La Rosa succumbed to his wounds and died at the hospital. He is survived by his wife, Susana, and three children.
Then, at around 3 a.m., officers responded to a call on the 5000 block of Sharp Street (District 6), where they found a man lying on the ground with a gunshot wound. He died at the scene.
No suspects have been identified in any of the three homicides, but investigations are ongoing.
At press time, The Dallas Express learned that a fourth homicide also took place on Tuesday at a Family Dollar store in District 4, the city council seat of Carolyn King Arnold. A suspect has been placed under arrest and charged with murder.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, the city saw a spike in violent crimes in October, including upticks in homicides, assaults, and robberies, particularly in Districts 2 and 7.
October’s crime statistics gave City Councilman Jesse Moreno of District 2 the dishonor of winning Crime Boss of the Month. With homicides trending upward at the close of November, time will tell how the recent spate of murders will impact who takes up the mantle next.
The Dallas Express, The People’s Paper, believes that important information about the city, such as crime rates and trends, should be easily accessible to you. Dallas has more crime per capita than hotspots like Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York, according to data from the FBI’s UCR database.
How did your area stack up on crime? Check out our interactive Crime Map to compare all Dallas City Council Districts. Curious how we got our numbers? Check out our methodology page here.