More black people were murdered this year in Council Member Tennell Atkins’ District 8 than in any other city council district in Dallas.
As of Monday, April 3, based on data available on the victim demographics page of the City of Dallas Open Data crime analytics dashboard, it appears that nine black men have lost their lives to violence in District 8 since the beginning of 2023. Those nine murders account for nearly 25% of the 40 black people murdered year-to-date within the city limits.
District 8, the southernmost city council district in Dallas, which runs along and around Interstate 20, also had the most murders regardless of victim demographic, clocking 15 criminal homicides. Districts 2, 6, and 7 came in six murders behind Atkins’ district, each logging nine.
While City data suggests that overall violent crime has dipped somewhat compared to the first three months of 2022, the number of murders has increased dramatically. Year-to-date, murders are up by 24.6%, with 76 incidents logged so far, 15 more than at this time last year.
The overwhelming majority of murder victims were male. Out of the 76 murders committed, 61 were perpetrated against males, 14 against females, and one was against a person currently designated as “Unknown.” The median age of victims is 30, with the youngest coming in at 11 years old.
Black men and women made up the majority of murder victims, according to the dashboard, accounting for 52.6% of the total.
Hispanic and/or Latino people comprised the next-largest share of murder victims (34.2%), with 26 killed. White people made up 6.6%, with five killed. The remaining five slain individuals included two people of Middle Eastern descent, one Asian person, and two designated “Unknown” in the City data.
Black people also made up the majority of victims of aggravated assault in Dallas, with 949 of the 1,860 incidents reported so far this year befalling black individuals.
Three city council districts stood out in terms of their raw numbers, clocking more than 200 aggravated assaults each. Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7 had 279, Council Member Carolyn King Arnold’s District 4 logged 250, and Atkins saw 219 in his district year-to-date.
The Dallas Express reached out to Council Member Atkins’ office for comment on the situation in his district but did not receive a response by press time.
