Dallas police responded to a call about a shooting on Saturday night, finding five people in need of medical attention — two of whom had gunshot wounds.
The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. near UT Southwestern Medical Center at the Inwood Road and Maple Avenue intersection. Investigators indicated that at least two vehicles were involved, according to The Dallas Morning News.
One vehicle was an SUV with a male driver and a female passenger. It crashed into a second vehicle carrying three males and a female. The driver of the SUV fled the scene.
Officers arrived to find the female from the SUV and one of the men from the other car suffering from gunshot wounds. Three of the occupants of the vehicles were also injured. All five were transported to the hospital, according to WFAA.
The incident unfolded in Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2, a city council district that has seen its share of violent crime in 2023.
There have been 4,256 instances of aggravated assault reported citywide so far this year. The figure represents a fraction of the total number of assault offenses (16,275 assaults) logged by the City, which includes simple assault and intimidation, according to the City of Dallas Open Data crime analytics dashboard. As of August 13, there were also 157 criminal homicides committed in Dallas.
An analysis completed in 2015 determined that a city the size of Dallas needs roughly 4,000 police officers, but the Dallas Police Department currently only employs around 3,100.
The shortage has been especially felt in Downtown Dallas, which has logged considerably more criminal incidents than Fort Worth’s downtown area. The latter is patrolled by a dedicated police unit that works alongside private security guards.
“With this many eyes and ears on the street, people who are up to no good feel very uncomfortable,” said Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc., according to WFAA.