Murders are still on the rise in Dallas, and the vast majority of victims have been men and boys of color.
As of September 9, there have been 175 criminal homicides committed in the city that have been logged by the Dallas Police Department, according to a DPD report. The figure marks a 10% year-to-date increase over last year’s running count of murders.
However, the City of Dallas Open Data victim demographics dashboard only recorded 171 criminal homicides through September 8. Still, the available data paints a disheartening picture.
Out of the 171 murders logged on the dashboard, 147 were men or boys of color. Some 91 were black, and 56 were Hispanic or Latino.
The youngest victim was a 7-year-old black boy named Kyrie Barnes, who was shot in bed by celebratory gunfire while he was watching a movie with his mother and other children over the Fourth of July weekend. He died a few days later.
According to WFAA, multiple shell casings from different firearms were scattered around the parking lot outside Barnes’ apartment.
DPD’s ability to respond to crime has been hampered in recent years by an ongoing shortage of police officers. A City report previously advised that a city the size of Dallas needs to have about 4,000 officers on staff. The department currently has fewer than 3,200 sworn officers.
Downtown Dallas has been especially affected by the police shortage, consistently logging much higher crime rates than Fort Worth’s downtown area. The latter is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers.
“NO PARENT SHOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS!! I AM HEARTBROKEN YALL PLEASE STOP SHOOTING IN THE AIR!! HE WAS A INNOCENT CHILD MINDING HIS OWN BUSINESS!!” posted Lisa Rae Abbe, community liaison for the activist group No More Violence.
The oldest male murder victim of color this year was 73-year-old Alvaro Sosa. He was sitting on his bed at home in northwestern Dallas when Josue Majano Hernandez, 21, fired a handgun in the direction of his house. One of the bullets went through a window and hit Sosa, who was found dead by authorities, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Barnes’ murder occurred in Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7. Sosa was killed in Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6.
