An Uber driver is recovering in the hospital after he was shot and robbed while on the job early Tuesday morning.
Dallas police said they believe that three men attempted to rob the rideshare driver at about 1:40 a.m. in the Oak Cliff area. The driver was shot twice in the back but was able to drive several blocks away from the scene of the attack before stopping to call 911.
The victim, who police have not named, was transported to Methodist Dallas Medical Center and is reported to be in serious condition, per Fox 4 KDFW.
Police are still searching for the suspects and have not released any further information about the incident. The robbery occurred on Pentagon Parkway, which runs through both Council Member Zarin Gracey’s District 3 and Council Member Carolyn King Arnold’s District 4.
Not including this most recent incident, Dallas has recorded 1,514 robberies and 4,079 aggravated assaults this year as of September 2.
Robbery and aggravated assault are two of the violent crimes that the Dallas Police Department has focused on as part of its Violent Crime Reduction Plan over the past three years. While the department has seen a measure of success in curtailing crime in these categories, its efforts have been hindered by a chronic shortage of police officers. The department fields about 3,000 officers despite a City analysis that recommends about 4,000 officers for a jurisdiction of its size.
Moreover, DPD was granted a budget of only $654 million this fiscal year, far less than that of other high-crime cities, such as New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Relatedly, nearby Fort Worth has seen success in managing crime in its downtown area by using dedicated police units along with private security patrols. The crime rate in Downtown Dallas is exponentially higher than in Fort Worth’s city center, according to data from the Metroplex Civic & Business Association.