Dallas police are investigating whether three shootings that erupted within about 75 minutes early Sunday were connected.
DALLAS, Texas — Four people were killed and 15 others were injured in three shootings early Sunday in Dallas’ Deep Ellum entertainment district, where gunfire broke out at separate locations within about 75 minutes, police said.
The shootings began shortly after midnight Nov. 1 and continued through about 1:35 a.m., according to the Dallas Police Department. Investigators were working Sunday to determine what led to the violence and whether the three incidents were connected. Police said the suspects remained outstanding in the department’s latest public notice, and the identities of those killed had not been released.
The first shooting was reported at approximately 12:20 a.m. in the 2600 block of Elm Street. Local reporting citing police said five people were shot in the parking lot of a convenience store after an apparent altercation. Officers were already nearby and quickly reached the area, Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said during a morning news conference. Police later said officers performed lifesaving measures on at least one person.
A second shooting was reported at about 1:05 a.m. in the 2600 block of Main Street, according to the Police Department’s preliminary account. Three people were killed in connection with that shooting, local authorities told news organizations. About 30 minutes later, police responded to another shooting in the 200 block of South Crowdus Street, where one person was killed.
Police said there were 19 victims across the three scenes: four people who died and 15 who were injured. Several of the wounded were taken to local hospitals, while officials said others apparently sought medical care on their own. Authorities had not released a complete list of the victims’ conditions Sunday. No police officers were injured.
Comeaux said investigators were still working through a large and complicated crime scene spread across several blocks of the neighborhood. “This is a really big scene. It’s spread out,” he said. The chief said detectives planned to canvass nearby businesses and collect surveillance recordings as they worked to reconstruct the sequence of events.
Comeaux said some people had been taken into custody during the investigation, including witnesses and other individuals, but authorities had not publicly specified how many people were arrested, what charges they might face or whether any person in custody was believed responsible for the shootings. The Police Department’s written update said the suspects remained outstanding. Investigators also had not publicly identified a motive.
The violence unfolded in Deep Ellum, a neighborhood east of downtown Dallas known for music venues, bars and restaurants. Police had increased their presence in the district before the shootings, Comeaux said. The shootings also came during a violent Halloween weekend in several U.S. cities, with separate incidents reported in nightlife or university areas in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware and Illinois.
Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said police officers were already in the area and able to respond immediately. She said the department would continue investigating and work to identify those responsible. Comeaux called the violence unacceptable and said detectives would use surveillance footage and other evidence gathered from the area as the investigation continued.
Dallas police assigned three case numbers to the shootings and said the facts and circumstances surrounding each incident remained under investigation. Authorities had not announced a confirmed connection among the shootings or released the names of the four people killed as of Sunday evening.