Living in the Hockaday/Midway area of North Dallas is really like living in the wild, wild west, that is, when gunfire was as common as church bells. On three different occasions starting on April 18, the Town North YMCA’s front windows have been shot at and shattered. The most recent vandalism occurred last Tuesday and Saturday evenings. Ten windows were shot at each time with pellet guns. And the bill to replace these windows is getting heftier — something that the Y is footing from its budget, not to mention the added cost of implementing new security.
If anyone at all has information on this, please notify Dallas Police.
The perpetrators have also, according to posts on various NextDoor threads, been shooting at cars parked on the streets in the following neighborhoods: Royal Northaven NA, Hockaday (near The Hockaday School), Northhaven NA and Les Jardins Estates. The shooting has occurred after sundown.
“On Tuesday, April 17th between 5:15am- 5:30am, a member reported that we had windows shot out. Our membership team member contacted me,” says Diddy Fulbright, Executive Director of the Town North YMCA. “Upon further investigation, we identified that 17 windows were shot out by what appeared to be bullets from a pellet gun. Because the windows were two-paned windows, the bullets did not penetrate both panels but just the outside panel. A police report was filed, case number 080544-2018 and the estimated cost to replace the windows was $8,000.”
That was April.
Then on Wednesday, May 9th between 5:15am- 5:30am, another member reported windows were shot out, this time a total of 10. Another police report was filed, case number 098137-2018. Estimated cost to replace these: $5,000.
Yet again on Sunday, May 13th between 11am and 12pm, 10 more windows were shot and reported. Fulbright estimates the shooting took place between the hours of 7:30pm on Saturday and 11am on Sunday. Another police report was filed, case number 18-0842509. Estimated cost to replace these windows is $10,000, or a total of $23,000.
“We are working closely with Sargent Price, a Dallas Police Officer who leads our neighborhood patrol group,” says Diddy. “They are speculating, based on patterns of occurrence here and at other places in the neighborhood, that we are looking for 2 to 4 teens in a car, perhaps an SUV, but I don’t know how he arrived at that. It is believed to be a pellet gun.”
The night of April 16th, a neighbor one block north of the Y reported that her front bay window shot at about 10:15 pm — the homeowners were home at the time.
“We are also having many conversations with the Dallas Police Department, and they will be placing cameras in strategic locations to catch or deflect these perpetrators,” says Diddy.
She adds that the Dallas Police Department and Town North Y Members have been super responsive and supportive.
“Our neighborhood loves the Town North YMCA.,” says Diddy. “Members have offered to help post a reward leading to an arrest, which we are probably going to do. Folks have offered to organize an after-hours patrol, which I am a little reluctant to organize. I don’t want to put anyone in harm’s way. The DPD is putting up a temporary camera unit for us until we either catch the perpetrators or our surveillance cameras are installed.”
And the area’s City Council Representative Jennifer Staubach Gates for District 13, is also working closely with DPD to assure the Y gets as much support as possible. Jennifer’s home is actually nearby.
“Hopefully,” says Diddy, “we are nearing the end of this saga.”But please do watch for an SUV, large car or van with at least three youths in the vehicle traveling around the Royal Northaven NA, Hockaday Northhaven NA and Les Jardins Estates areas after sundown”.
