Cleburne police are searching for a suspect who shot and killed an 18-year-old woman.
Around 1 p.m. on Sunday, police officers responded to a shooting call in the 500 block of Poindexter Avenue. While on their way to the scene, police learned that the victim had been taken to a different location after she was shot.
Police found the woman at the secondary location. She was transported to the hospital, where she died from her injuries.
The victim was later identified as 18-year-old Kaylee Lanay Merchant of Cleburne.
Police said that Merchant was a passenger in a white SUV when an altercation took place, which led to her being shot. They did not specify on which street the victim was found or give any information about a possible suspect. The gunman fled the scene before officers arrived.
Authorities believe the shooting to be an isolated incident, and there is no threat to the general public.
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact the Cleburne Police Department at (817) 645-0972 or call crime stoppers at (817)-641-TIPS, (817)-295-LEAD, or (817)-496-SAFE.
In nearby Dallas, 135 homicides have been reported so far this year. The murder rate in Dallas is 10.35 murders per 100,000 persons, according to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard.
Criminal activity is especially rampant in Downtown Dallas, which regularly outpaces Fort Worth’s city center when it comes to a variety of criminal offenses.
While the Dallas Police Department has been laboring under a significant staffing shortage, a specialized police unit and private security teams patrol Fort Worth’s downtown area. Although a prior analysis of Dallas’ public safety needs by population recommended a police force of around 4,000 officers, DPD fields only around 3,000.
DPD also lacks funding compared to other high-crime jurisdictions. New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago leaders have allocated far higher sums to police than the Dallas City Council, which approved a DPD budget of just $654 million this fiscal year.
