Vigil held Sunday to remember 18-year-old shot at Dallas ISD basketball game
DALLAS - A vigil was held Sunday evening for the 18-year-old who was fatally shot at a Dallas ISD high school basketball game.
On Saturday, the family of 18-year-old Marc Strickland removed him from life support, and he passed away a short time later.
RELATED: 18-year-old shot at Dallas ISD basketball game taken off life support, family says
Police say the shooter was a 15-year-old, who is now in custody. This case is now being investigated as a murder by Dallas police.
The shooting filled the headlines all week, and now, it has increased the number of homicides the city has had this year.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, Police Chief Renee Hall, and city leaders are all trying to find a solution for the crime problem.
Many in the community are saying change needs to happen fast.
Nearly a dozen people have been killed in Dallas so far this year.
One of the most recent victims, Strickland, was remembered by friends and family during a vigil on Sunday.
Police say a teenage shooter brought a gun inside Ellis Davis Field House and shot Strickland after a fight.
His mother, Dewanna Mitchell, spoke with FOX4 on Saturday, shortly after her son was taken off life support.
“I don’t know what escalated it, I don’t have a clue. I know kids fight,” she said. “I am just looking for answers, I am just looking for answers.”
Mayor Johnson said Saturday that there have already been more homicides this year compared to this time last year.
At the MLK Gala, Johnson proclaimed 2020 as a year of non-violence in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“I am very aware that we can’t eradicate violent crime in our city through a proclamation. We can’t simply wish violence away with words. But what we can do and what we should do, is use this weekend and this week to rededicate ourselves to the principles of non-violence,” he said.
Following the shooting last weekend, Dallas ISD leaders changed the district’s security policy.
Adding metal detections at all district athletic events moving forward.
RELATED: 15-year-old arrested for shooting at Dallas ISD high school basketball game
Mitchell thinks the district failed in keeping her son safe, but believes the policy change will protect others in the future.
“I know my son saved someone else’s life. He saved someone else’s child, someone else’s mother from going through what I had to go through. No mother should have to bury their son,” she said.
When it comes to Dallas ISD events this week, you can now bring clear bags inside, unlike the ban on all bags last week.
Moving forward, there will be metal detectors at all events.