Dallas councilman representing Oak Cliff calls for action over frequent gunfire
Dallas City Council District 4 Councilman Maxie Johnson
DALLAS - A Dallas City Council member is calling for police to help with the many cases of random gunfire across his district.
Councilman Maxie Johnson says people, including his own family members, don't feel safe in their homes. The east Oak Cliff council member talked with FOX 4 about the problem Tuesday.
Oak Cliff shooting issues
Derouens Mitchell, a resident of Oak Cliff, pointed out proof of recent random gunfire in a shopping center at Ann Arbor and Marsalis ahead of the Tuesday evening meeting. In just that one area, there were eight spent casings littering the ground.
According to Mitchell, it's not uncommon to hear gunfire in the neighborhood.
Shell casing in Oak Cliff
What they're saying:
"It happens all the time. It happens all the time. We always have gun shootings," Mitchell said while pointing out the shells.
Mitchell said it's not regulated to just that spot, either.
"Not just over here at the shopping center, but on the other side of Ann Arbor also," Mitchell claimed.
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City council member weighs in
Johnson, who represents the historic district, said he often hears from his constituents about similar issues. One recent email, he said, claimed that a woman and her family now sleep on their floor after an incident where a bullet came through their daughter's wall in a random shooting.
What they're saying:
"A lot of times my granddaughter is on her knees praying before they go to sleep, and what if that bullet would have came through that wall while my granddaughter was on her knees," Maxie said, "Then I'd probably be burying my granddaughter or my daughter. I've already lost a son to gun violence."
A personal subject:
It was 2019 when Christopher Whitfield, Johnson's son, was gunned down in the 3600 block of Utah Avenue, just a few streets from where Maxie spoke to FOX 4 on Tuesday. Two men were sentenced to prison time for his killing.
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Johnson says he is asking Chief Daniel Comeaux to come up with a plan and come down and meet the community.
The department says it is using gunshot detection systems to identify where random gunfire is happening and to quicken response, adding in an email:
"The Dallas Police Department is aware of the community's concerns about random gunfire, and continues to use proactive patrols and technology to enforce the law."
"These are the kinds of things that we've got to get fixed in our community," Johnson said. "It's time out, and I'm not going to be the councilmember that continues to let this stuff happen. There has to be some real changes."
The Source: Information in this article comes from Maxie Johnson, additional FOX 4 interviews and previous statements from Dallas PD.