Three teens in Arlington were injured on Sunday evening in a shooting that local police say may have been related to “high-risk drug activity.”
Arlington police responded to the call of a shooting at an apartment complex in the 2200 block of Lincoln Drive at about 7:50 p.m. Three individuals were found with gunshot wounds in three separate locations at the complex.
A 17-year-old female was found in a vacant apartment with significant injuries. She was taken to a local hospital and was listed in critical condition as of Monday morning.
A 19-year-old male was found in the apartment next door. Police believe that he may be related to the female victim, but the connection is unclear. The man was transported to the hospital, and his injuries were described as “non-life-threatening.”
A third victim, a 19-year-old male, was found in a vehicle on the premises, and he was also suffering from gunshot wounds. He is listed in critical condition at an area hospital. Police have not stated whether there is a connection between the man found in the car and the two persons found inside the apartment building.
Police said they believe the shooting took place inside the vacant apartment, as Fox 4 KDFW reported, but they have not commented on a motive for the shooting. However, they did say in a press release investigators believe “high-risk drug activity may be involved.”
In neighboring Dallas, police have logged 4,583 incidents of aggravated assaults this year, and 8,378 drug-related violations.
Efforts to fight crime in the city have been hampered by a chronic shortage of police officers. The department has around 3,000 officers in the field, even though a City report previously advised a force of roughly 4,000 is necessary to reduce lengthy police response times and adequately meet public safety needs.
For the past fiscal year, the Dallas Police Department has operated on a budget of $654 million, far less than that of other high-crime jurisdictions such as Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles.