Dallas mayor, police chief tout drop in violent crime, but some data suggests otherwise
DALLAS - Dallas police are investigating two shootings that happened within hours of each other Wednesday, about a mile apart.
In one case, the victim was just 14 years old.
This comes as the mayor touted endorsements from police and bragged about violent crime dropping in the city.
As the Dallas mayor and police chief tout "a drop in violent crime," some of the data suggests otherwise.
Just before 1 a.m. Wednesday, near Ann Arbor and Marsalis in South Oak Cliff, Dallas police said 18-year-old Jacob Ruvalcaba tried to rob a woman who was inside her vehicle and shot her, injuring her.
"I got this, this morning, about 4 a.m. I thought things calmed down. Then, when I got ready to go to work, I saw all those police cars," said Ola Allen, who is president of the Marsalis Park Neighborhood HOA.
Hours later, less than a mile away, a 14-year-old was shot across the street from South Oak Cliff High School.
RELATED: Shooting near South Oak Cliff High School leaves 1 injured
On the same day, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson tweeted a statement about recent endorsements claiming Dallas has "seen violent crime decrease by double digits over the last two years."
That may be true when you group all violent crimes together, but it doesn’t apply to every violent crime.
And certain crimes are up this year, compared to last.
That includes murders and armed robberies.
Armed robberies of a business are up double digits from this time last year, while armed robberies of individuals are up nearly 10%.
READ MORE: Dallas woman, 21, shot to death over basketball game
Allen said if there’s a drop in violent crime, she’s not seeing it.
"I don’t feel like it is, every other day, there is a crime. Maybe they are referring to certain areas," she said.
Teresa Hanks agrees.
"There has been crimes in the neighborhood, shopping center, all over the place. So I am not seeing how crimes are down," Hanks said.
Both Hanks and Allen want more police patrols in their neighborhood because they feel their zip code is being neglected.
But Allen admits that people in her neighborhood also need to get involved.
She said the community has a vital role as well.
"We need to be involved. I am also saying to my community. We have over 1,000 persons here, I challenge them to be involved," she said. "We meet at South Oak Cliff the fourth Tuesday of every month. The community needs to get involved. City officials need to hear us and then do some action. Don’t hear us and then leave us."