A carjacking in Fort Worth on Saturday afternoon proved to be a nightmarish ordeal for one mother.
At around 12:45 p.m., Fort Worth police received a call from a distraught woman saying her car had been stolen with her 1-year-old child inside.
The incident occurred in the 1300 block of Orange Street when three individuals — two men and one woman — allegedly came across a 10-year-old child they thought was alone inside a car.
They allegedly violently assaulted the older child, forced them from the car, and drove away with the infant still in the backseat.
After a rapid search, the infant was recovered unharmed approximately 12 miles away on Chamita Lane.
The older child was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at the scene.
Fort Worth police are now on the lookout for the culprits, although they have yet to release a detailed description of the suspects and the stolen vehicle.
In neighboring Dallas, incidences of auto theft have surged 41.5% year over year, with 15,291 incidents reported so far this year compared to 10,810 logged by this time last year, according to the Dallas Police Department’s crime analytics dashboard.
These rates have been concentrated in Downtown Dallas, where one study by the Metroplex Civic and Business Association found that auto thefts occurred approximately 46 times more often than in downtown Fort Worth. Cowtown also reportedly patrols its city center with a dedicated police unit and private security officers.
Meanwhile, DPD has a serious officer deficit that has dampened its ability to fight crime overall. For instance, one analysis recommended a municipality of Dallas’ size should have around 4,000 sworn officers on staff — three for every 1,000 residents — yet the department currently maintains a force of fewer than 3,200 officers.
As a result, Dallas police average more than 90 minutes to respond to a call concerning a motor vehicle theft in progress, as previously covered in The Dallas Express.