Dallas, TX
Murder rate rises in Dallas, amplifying feelings of helplessness and calls for change
With their heads barely bowed to the small cluster of candles and wilting roses in entrance of them on a cracked avenue, the dad and mom of 14-year-old Jordan Perez stood enveloped in silence Sunday morning, their eyes hidden behind sun shades.
“Lengthy Dwell Jordan” and “LLJ” had been spray-painted in white and orange on the street. Behind them, three children tussled on a playground, seemingly oblivious to the grieving group clothed in purple — Jordan’s favourite colour — at Outdated East Dallas Work Yard Park.
“Regardless what individuals assume led as much as Jordan’s loss of life, he was a baby,” Christopher Morales, Jordan’s great-uncle, informed the gang of about 60, who had gathered in sweltering warmth for a memorial stroll.
Close to them was one other array of candles, flowers, a picket cross and a deflated purple balloon — extra reminders of the gun violence that had eight days earlier than claimed the lifetime of Jordan, who’d simply accomplished sixth grade at J.L. Lengthy Center College. His family members recalled his ardour for using ATVs, taking part in soccer and baseball and hanging out with household.
“Everybody cherished Jordan’s smile, and the way he would mild up the room,” Morales stated. “And the way he was there for many individuals.”
Jordan is amongst no less than 110 individuals slain in Dallas by means of Monday this 12 months, in line with police statistics. That quantity — up about 18% from the 93 victims on the identical level final 12 months — has stoked emotions of frustration and helplessness in some neighborhoods.
The quantity is also a troubling metric forward of summer season, when violence sometimes rises. Dallas police stated they plan to regulate their patrols and crime plan, which must be mentioned in additional element at Wednesday’s Metropolis Council assembly.
Morales stated he hopes to transcend the same old discussions about violence prevention to encourage change. He stated the neighborhood must work on “breaking the generational curses which have plagued our households and our communities” by confronting issues associated to medicine, psychological well being, gangs, crime and extra.
“Jordan’s loss of life isn’t going to be swept below the rug — simply one other casualty, a product of the setting,” he stated.
“My nephew — he made a distinction. I’ve this anger however I don’t wish to channel it the best way generations previous have channeled it. I actually need change.”
Uptick in murders
Total, violence in Dallas is down this 12 months about 2.4% — or 126 fewer victims — from final 12 months’s numbers. That’s due largely to fewer intercourse offenses, that are sometimes underreported crimes.
Aggravated assaults have remained regular. Police reported 3,484 aggravated assaults to date this 12 months, 11 fewer than in 2021.
Robberies, which decreased considerably final 12 months, at the moment are up, pushed by an increase in these dedicated at companies.
However curbing an increase in homicides has all the time been the first focus of metropolis officers — notably after 2020, when Dallas reached its highest homicide charge in additional than 15 years. By this level in 2020, police recorded 83 slayings.
The 110 killings this 12 months don’t embrace no less than two investigated by DART police or the seven homicides that Dallas police labeled justifiable (comparable to these police imagine had been in self-defense).
Latest victims embrace Du’Vonta Lampkin, 25, a former College of Oklahoma soccer participant shot to loss of life Could 5 in downtown Dallas; Andrew Hernandez, 20, a bystander gunned down Could 7 whereas ready for a experience house in South Dallas; and Lamonte Cornelius Dewberry, 20, discovered fatally shot Could 12 inside his automotive within the 9300 block of John W. Carpenter Freeway.
After the town completed 2021 with 220 murders, 34 fewer than 2020, metropolis officers and police repeatedly celebrated Dallas’ success in lowering violence. The town noticed a 9.3% decline in violence total from 2020.
Tuesday, reacting to the uptick in homicides, police stated they want the neighborhood’s assist.
“We can’t battle crime alone,” the division stated in a written assertion. “We additionally ask for assist from the general public. When you see one thing, say one thing. It’s going to take all of us to make our metropolis safer.”
Methods and plans
Greater than a 12 months has handed since Dallas police Chief Eddie García’s violent-crime plan went into impact. The plan has short-, medium- and long-term methods and relies on the concept a disproportionate variety of crimes happen in sure components of the town.
As a part of the primary stage, police have heightened visibility and assets in about 50 small grids — 330-foot-by-330-foot “scorching spots” — throughout Dallas. They’re now targeted on the second part of the plan: finding felony networks and disrupting them, in any other case often called place-network investigations.
The division has additionally unveiled different plans to curb latest crime traits.
In March, police introduced a part of a plan to confront crime at condominium complexes, which they labeled the No. 1 location within the metropolis for violence. Police deliberate to type a brand new uniformed workforce to analysis multifamily properties the place crime occurs and implement intervention methods for each. Additionally they wished to spice up engagement by means of crime-watch conferences, occasions for younger individuals, condominium neighborhood walks and discussions with police.
Police additionally pushed for an ordinance cracking down on occasion promoters and property homeowners after two mass shootings at occasions that didn’t have permits. The shootings — one at a South Dallas celebration venue and one other at a live performance in southeast Oak Cliff — left two individuals lifeless and no less than 25 others injured. The ordinance is about to go earlier than council for approval June 22.
Nationally, latest discussions about violence have centered on gun laws, notably after the mass taking pictures that killed 19 youngsters and two lecturers at Robb Elementary College in Uvalde.
Whereas these debates play out, Dallas neighborhoods proceed to really feel the impression of crime. From Deep Ellum to Decrease Greenville, residents who reside close to or frequent widespread nightlife spots have issued requires assist and voiced frustration with gunshots and violence linked to bars. The identical goes for some residential communities.
Council member Jesse Moreno, whose district consists of the park the place Jordan Perez was killed, informed the gang of mourners Sunday that the neighborhood can advocate for stricter gun legal guidelines. He stated he plans to work to extend lighting across the Outdated East Dallas Work Yard Park to discourage crime, and he hopes to create extra alternatives for “the expansion of our kids.”
“I’ve seen how gun violence has affected our neighborhood up to now,” Moreno stated. “As a neighborhood, we have to say, ‘No extra.’”
‘I’m making an attempt my greatest’
Alex Piquero, chairman of the division of sociology and criminology on the College of Miami and an skilled who labored on the Dallas mayor’s activity pressure on protected communities, stated it’s troublesome to invest why murders are climbing this 12 months. He stated Dallas isn’t distinctive on the difficulty.
He stated it’s vital that Dallas police proceed to interact with community-violence interrupters and conduct tracing analyses on firearms, noting that many weapons utilized in homicides are additionally utilized in different crimes.
Piquero cautioned towards dismissing the crime-plan due to the homicide uptick.
“Once I see will increase like this, I all the time pause for concern, although not panic,” he stated.
“On the identical time, a deep dive into the murders, which I’m certain the DPD is doing, is vital as a way to decide whether or not there are any distinctive linkages between violent locations, violent individuals and the danger components which are related to the interplay between violent locations/violent individuals.”
However for Christopher Morales and family members of the town’s different murder victims, violence in Dallas can’t be addressed quickly sufficient.
“I lose my nephew and it hurts,” Morales stated. “And I’m making an attempt my greatest. I don’t have all of the solutions. And there’s no phrases — individuals supply their condolences. It takes motion; it doesn’t take condolences.”
Dallas, TX
Former Dallas Cowboys DE, Robert Quinn, arrested in South Carolina
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn was arrested in South Carolina Friday morning after police said he tried to leave the scene of an accident.
Quinn, 34, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage and reckless driving, jail records show.
What we know:
Police in North Charleston, South Carolina responded to a car dealership just after 2 a.m. Friday because of a collision involving a red truck.
The North Charleston Fire Department arrived first on the scene and told police that the suspect might be attempting to leave the scene of the crash in another car.
When police arrived, they found Quinn in the passenger seat of a white Dodge Challenger that had its reverse lights on. The vehicle’s driver placed the car in park and told police she had been called by Quinn to “pick him up,” according to a police report.
Police said Quinn had visible injuries to his head and face, had slurred speech and was uncooperative with officers who asked for his identification.
Quinn eventually provided his identification to officers, but asked himself “where is my wallet” while his wallet was in his hand before dropping it in his lap.
The police report states a maroon Ford F-150 registered to Quinn was on the other side of the parking lot and looked to be the vehicle that started the collision.
Police said Quinn’s truck hit the passenger side of a Honda Element, which was pushed into a blue Ford F-150 that hit another car.
Officers asked Quinn to get out of the Challenger, but Quinn resisted by holding the door to the car, the report states. Police removed Quinn from the vehicle, and he was “escorted to the ground” by officers because he was trying to pull away from them.
Officers interviewed the woman with Quinn, who said she had met him at G-Club, a gentleman’s club, where she works, earlier that night.
Another employee of the club came to the scene and said Quinn had left alone about an hour before the collision happened.
Timeline:
Police said they used city cameras to build a timeline of the crash.
The police report states Quinn’s truck was seen driving down the road around 2 a.m. Friday and was veering left, crossed an intersection, a median and then onto dealership property.
City cameras did not pick up the collision, but it can be heard, the police report states.
Police said around 2:03 a.m. a single person is seen walking through the parking lot and a few minutes later that person walked to a Valero gas station.
At 2:07 a.m., the person is seen walking back to the dealership parking lot while stumbling and falling several times, the police report states.
About a minute later, a white Dodge Challenger is seen entering the parking lot around the same time that the fire department arrived, according to the report.
Dallas Cowboys Defensive End
Quinn played the 2019 season with the Dallas Cowboys after being traded from the Miami Dolphins for a sixth-round pick.
Quinn was suspended for the first two games of the season after violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. He was named the team’s starting right defensive end when he was reinstated.
Quinn finished the season with 25 tackles, 11.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Quinn signed a five-year, $70 million contract with the Chicago Bears the following season.
Quinn was drafted 14th overall by the St. Louis Rams in 2011 and spent six years with the team before going to Miami, Dallas, Chicago and ending his career in 2022 with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Quinn was born in North Charleston, South Carolina, where he played high school football before playing college football for the University of North Carolina.
The backstory:
This isn’t Quinn’s first tangle with law enforcement.
July 2012 – Florissant, Mo.
Quinn was arrested for driving while intoxicated in July 2012 in Florissant, Missouri, while a member of the St. Louis Rams.
Florissant police said Quinn was involved in a single-car accident on an exit ramp of Interstate 270 on July 10, 2012. Police said he was cooperative with them during the arrest.
Quinn was also charged with failure to exercise a high degree of care and having no insurance.
August 2023 – Summerville, S.C.
In August 2023, Quinn was arrested in Summerville, South Carolina after police found four unoccupied vehicles in a subdivision had been damaged.
At some point, Quinn allegedly exited his vehicle and got into a physical altercation with a woman before leaving the scene.
According to an accident report, a Ford F-150 truck crashed into multiple vehicles. Responding officers proceeded to search the vehicle and found an empty whiskey bottle on the passenger side floorboard.
Per the police report, the unidentified woman was sitting in her driveway when the suspect hit two parked vehicles. The driver then exited the truck and offered to buy her beer, the woman told investigators.
Quinn was charged with third-degree assault and battery, hit-and-run of an attended vehicle, four counts of hit-and-run property damage and striking fixtures on or adjacent to the highway.
What’s next:
Quinn was booked into the Charleston County, South Carolina jail.
Jail records show Quinn has a preliminary court date set for Feb. 27, 2025.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the North Charleston police department and previous FOX reporting.
Dallas, TX
Dallas Snowfall Totals: How much snow fell on Thursday and Friday?
DALLAS – North Texas got less snow than expected overnight.
FOX 4 Weather Meteorologist Evan Andrews said it was one of those crazy forecasts where some people got exactly what they expected, and others got the opposite.
“Some of you got that heavier precipitation [on Thursday]. Others were waiting for some overnight, and the precip overnight really never got going. We got a little bit of light snow on the backend but not a ton,” he said.
For snow lovers, the snow that was on the ground from Thursday is still there. However, the total accumulation did not increase much overnight.
Snowfall Totals (as of 4 a.m. Friday)
Overall, the areas of highest accumulation were north of Highway 182 in Cooke and Grayson counties. Areas like Gainesville, Sherman, and Bonham got more than 6 inches of snow.
A lot of people in Wise, Denton, and Collin counties got between 3 and 6 inches.
Fort Worth and North Dallas saw between 1 and 3 inches.
People south of Dallas got less than an inch of snow.
Thursday Snowfall (as of 9 p.m.)
Future Snowfall
No additional accumulation is expected on Friday, with the exception of maybe a few light flakes early Friday morning.
The Source: The information in this story comes from the FOX 4 Weather team.
Dallas, TX
Addison's WaterTower Theatre finds new stage for its summer musicals
For its 2025 season, Second Thought Theatre is going all-in on world premieres written by Dallas-Fort Worth playwrights.
While exploring the question of “What space does STT provide in DFW?” executive director Parker Davis Gray says, “STT is a place where audiences intentionally attend to be challenged by and wrestle with sharp new stories and an electric take on reimagined classics.”
The company likens this perspective to the work produced by the independent TV and film production company A24, and says that has inspired this upcoming season.
Opening Second Thought’s 21st season is Blake Hackler’s Healed, which follows Gail, who has been sick for 25 years.
Every doctor, every test, every treatment — none of it has worked. Now, with nothing left to lose, she sells everything and heads to a radical health center in the Texas Hill Country, run by the enigmatic and controversial Dr. T. Will this be her cure, her salvation, or something else entirely? It runs April 25-May 10, 2025.
Hackler’s previous work at STT includes the premieres of What We Were, The Necessities, and the 2018 Ibsen adaptation Enemies/ People.
Ringing in the summer is the sci-fi experiment Your Wife’s Dead Body, written by STT artistic associate Jenny Ledel in her playwriting premiere.
While Ledel is remembered for her performances in Belleville, Grounded, and What We Were, this shift to the other side of the table has been years in the making.
“Over the past few years, I’ve been reading Jenny’s plays and attending readings of her work,” says Gray, “she has such an accessible, inviting, and exciting voice that will resonate with Dallas as we begin to navigate the unknown landscape the next few years will bring us.”
Your Wife’s Dead Body takes place in the near future, as Jane takes advantage of a new AI technology that would extend her lifespan … even if she’s not around to see it for herself. A play about relationships, the nature of self, and what may or may not remain of us when we leave this life behind, this story asks us to consider the new and difficult questions humans may face as new technologies emerge.
Ledel’s world premiere will be directed by former STT artistic director (and Ledel’s husband) Alex Organ. It runs July 11-26, 2025.
To close out the 2025 season, STT will dive into a new genre with INCARNATE by STT’s own Parker Davis Gray.
Trapped in her cell, Rosamund is hellbent on escaping her fate while the Man who kidnapped her struggles with the consequences of what grief can do, and how far he will go to escape it. Can they live with themselves? Or more importantly, who else is living with them?
A horror/thriller that follows two artists over the course of a year in their seemingly pointless pursuit of creation while suffering under great grief. Directed by Jenna Burnett, who also directed the original reading at Undermain Theatre, it runs October 17-November 1, 2025.
In addition to a world premiere-packed season, STT will continue its year-long playwriting incubator program, Thought Process, andadd another development program to the docket.
2025 will be the inaugural year of Second Thought Theatre’s Associate Director Program, a year-long cohort aimed at providing professional development through education, exposure, and opportunity. Three early-career professionals will have the opportunity to assist on one production of the 2025 season, gain training and receive feedback from professional directors, spend the year working on scene study with STT artistic director Carson McCain, and then end their year with each director taking the lead on one to three readings.
“The purpose of this cohort is to fill a gap we currently see in the DFW arts community,” says McCain. “We want to offer early career directors a safe place to develop their craft and seek feedback from their peers and other professionals. We want this to be a group that allows directors to grow without the pressures of impressing a professional theater in order to be hired again. STT will serve as facilitators and educators, giving feedback, training, and a place to ask questions.”
Season subscriptions and individual tickets are now on sale at SecondThoughtTheatre.com. All productions will take place at Bryant Hall.
Second Thought Theatre Announces their new season centered around cost and consequence as they showcase the sharp and bold voices of local DFW playwrights.
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