A teenage suspect is facing a capital murder charge after being linked to the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old in Dallas on Tuesday.
Dallas police arrested a 16-year-old suspected of shooting another teen in a fight that escalated into violence. The unnamed suspect is expected to face a capital murder charge, according to NBC 5 DFW.
Officers were deployed to a residence in the 2500 block of Southland Street, near Dallas Lincoln High School, shortly before 11 a.m. on January 30. Moises Huerta Gonzalez, 15, was found shot, and despite efforts by medical professionals to treat him at Baylor University Medical Center, he eventually succumbed to his wounds.
The suspect was also injured during the incident and treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the leg. He is now in police custody.
CC Lockett, a woman who happened to be in the area that day, told reporters that she saw about 15 teenagers fleeing the home.
“Somebody just come out with a white gun, so I thought they were playing because it looked fake, like a movie,” she told NBC 5.
She went on to explain that she realized it was not a game when she heard dozens of gunshots ring out.
“Like 20 shots,” Lockett told WFAA. “Never seen anything like that in 40 years. I’ve seen a lot of stuff, and I ain’t never seen nothing like that, not in close range with kids.”
Across Dallas, a total of 19 homicides have been logged in the City’s crime analytics dashboard as of January 31. Last year, a total of 246 murders were reported in the city. The vast majority of the victims were documented as either black or Hispanic males, with a median age of 31.
Tuesday’s fatal shooting occurred in Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7, which logged the most murders last year at 45.
The Dallas Police Department has been trying to curb violent crime through community partnerships and hotspot policing. However, DPD has only around 3,000 officers on the streets, whereas a City report recommends roughly 4,000 to ensure public safety in Dallas.
On top of this significant staffing shortage, DPD’s budget will be just $654 million this fiscal year. City officials will spend far less on police than leaders of other high-crime municipalities, such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
