Four people were murdered in Dallas over the long Fourth of July holiday weekend, and another individual was killed by police after he allegedly participated in an armed robbery.
“One of the suspects pointed a gun at an officer. The officer and suspect struggled, and the officer fired at the suspect, hitting him,” the Dallas Police Department posted about the officer-involved shooting that occurred on July 4.
Police were called about a robbery in progress in the 2900 block of South Lancaster Road in Council Member Carolyn King Arnold’s District 4 at around 1 a.m.
When “covert officers” arrived, they determined that three suspects had fled from an “illegal game room.”
The suspect who was shot was given first aid at the scene and transported to a local hospital where he died of his injuries. The other two suspects were apprehended.
Later the same day in District 4, at around 10 p.m., officers responded to a call about a shooting in the 2100 block of 52nd Street.
“The preliminary investigation determined when officers arrived, they found 46-year-old Hector Alvarez Rosales shot inside the home. Further investigation identified a suspect, Angel Alejandro, 26, as the suspect who shot and killed Alvarez Rosales,” DPD wrote about the murder.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Alejandro, and police noted that he and the victim were “known to one another.”
Another murder was logged that night at around 11:30 p.m. in the 7800 block of Marvin D. Love Freeway on the border of District 4 and Council Member Zarin Gracey’s District 3.
“The preliminary investigation determined when officers arrived, they found Tyrer Pearson, 51, shot in a breezeway of an apartment complex. Pearson died at the scene,” DPD wrote.
The investigation is ongoing, and DPD did not note whether a suspect had been identified.
The following morning at around 7:00 a.m., police received a call about an armed encounter in the 9500 block of Royal Lane in Council Member Kathy Stewart’s District 10, where they found Unetria Williams, 47, shot dead inside a residence.
“Further investigation identified a suspect, Demarcus Gates, 40, as the suspect who shot and killed Williams,” DPD wrote, noting that the victim and suspect were known to one another.
Officers arrested Gates, and he has been charged with murder.
On Saturday, police conducted a welfare check in the 6300 block of Llano Avenue in Council Member Paul Ridley’s District 14 at around 3:20 p.m.
“The preliminary investigation determined when officers arrived, Dallas Fire-Rescue forced entry into the home and found a woman unresponsive on the floor of the home. The woman died at the scene,” DPD wrote about the call.
The following day, the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the woman’s death was a homicide. The investigation has since been designated as a murder.
Police have not indicated if a suspect has been identified.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the overwhelming majority of murder victims this year have been black or Hispanic, though the demographic information of the holiday weekend’s murder victims was not immediately available.
DPD has been struggling to fight crime amid a chronic staffing shortage. The department only fields around 3,000 officers at present. A prior City analysis, however, advises that roughly 4,000 are needed to police a jurisdiction the size of Dallas.
Budgeting only $654 million of taxpayer money for DPD this fiscal year, the Dallas City Council chose to spend much less on public safety than other high-crime cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
