Police: Man with camo mask threatened women in northeast Dallas

DALLAS - A middle-aged man with a beer belly and a camouflaged mask has been approaching women in northeast Dallas. Police are concerned because he had a gun for the most recent incident.

Rose Melgoza opened her door Tuesday morning to find her 29-year-old neighbor in a panic. Her neighbor said a man in a camo mask had pulled a gun on her.

“I heard an ‘Oh my gosh.’ And I instantly thought it was my daughter. And I go, ‘Why would my daughter be here at 11:30 a.m. And then I heard a ding ding ding ding... pound pound pound pound pound,” she said.

Dallas police said the victim heard a shriek or scream coming from her backyard and went to check it out. That's when the masked gunman jumped out of the bushes at her home on Kirkwood Drive, near the intersection of Easton Road and Lake Highlands Drive.

The and yelled profanities at her but didn’t touch her. She got away by running to a neighbor’s house, police said.

“On Nextdoor and on Facebook, there were quickly hundreds of comments, worried neighbors. And just looking out the window we saw patrol people. They were jumping in their cars and driving around looking for, you know, the bad guy,” said Garrett Murphree, another neighbor.

Responding officers also searched the area but couldn’t find the suspect.

Police described him as a white or Hispanic male between the ages of 40 and 50 years old. He’s about 5 feet 10 inches tall with a beer belly. He was also wearing what appeared to be a neoprene camo mask and a blue t-shirt with a white logo.

He matches the description of the suspect in two other incidents in the area earlier this year.

Police said a man wearing a camouflaged mask knocked on doors near the area of Koko Head Circle and Easton Road and near the area of Groveland Drive and Tavaros Avenue in mid-January.

“We believe that it’s the same person and we believe that this person is a very dangerous individual,” Dallas PD Major Malik Aziz said.

He made inappropriate comments in both of the incidents. He didn’t commit any crime but police called the incidents disturbing and upsetting.

Police shared surveillance photos of him wearing a navy blue hoodie with a logo, jeans, black gloves and brown work boots. They described him as a white male with a stocky build.

Anyone who recognizes the suspect is asked to contact the Dallas Police Department.

Residents in the area should also be vigilant when answering the door, police said.