Dallas Halloween shootings leave four dead and at least 15 injured, police say

Four people were killed in three apparently unrelated shootings across the Deep Ellum neighbourhood in Dallas late on Halloween night, police said. At least 15 people were injured.

Police said a suspect had been taken into custody and at least one other was being sought.

Dallas Police Chief Daniel C. Comeaux said during a press conference on Sunday that detectives and officers were still trying to put everything together to understand exactly what happened on each scene and to see if anything was related. He said that at this time they had no information that the shootings were related, but the investigation was continuing.

Comeaux said at least 15 people had been injured in the shootings, but that number could rise as some people had transported themselves to nearby hospitals.

The first shooting began at about 12:20 a.m. near the 2600 block of Elm Street, followed less than an hour later at about 1:05 a.m. by a shooting on the 2600 block of Main Street, police said. The third began at about 1:35 a.m. on the 200 block of S. Crowdus Street.

Dallas Police sources said that at one location a man allegedly said he was going to start shooting, and that at least three people were killed at that location, according to the source.

Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson said in a statement that such violence is always unacceptable in the city. He said public safety must always remain the top priority and they must continue to explore strategies to ensure that Deep Ellum can be a safe gathering place in the city.

Johnson and Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert both said the victims and their families would be in their thoughts. Tolbert said in a statement that Dallas Police officers were on the ground and able to respond immediately, that police would continue to investigate and work to bring those responsible to justice, and that additional information would be shared as it becomes available.