Search underway for gunman who robbed, killed man in Oak Lawn
DALLAS - A man was murdered during a robbery on a street in the Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas. So far, police are saying little about their progress in the search for the killer.
Dallas police say 30-year-old Justin Thompson was shot and killed during the holdup. Another person with him was also attacked but survived.
Justin Thompson and Shea Ferrara were the best of friends since their teenage years.
"We bonded over music," Ferrara said. "We met up at American Idol auditions. It was kind of just like, ‘I had no idea you were going to be here. Let’s be best friends’ kind of a situation."
Now, Ferrara is heartbroken and left without her roommate and loved one.
"All Justin wanted was to be loved," she said. "And he was loved by a lot of people. A lot of people."
Thompson was shot and killed while walking along a sidewalk off Hall Street just a block away from popular bars and restaurants off Cedar Springs overnight Monday.
Dallas police believe the motive was robbery.
The police department says while Thompson was shot, the person he was with was assaulted. Both were robbed.
"There’s a lot of work that has to be done very quickly," said Lee Daugherty with Take Back Oak Lawn.
The organization is trying to help police by asking people in the area to review any security footage from 2:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Monday.
"This isn’t happening on some side street eight blocks away. It’s happening within 100 feet of where we have fun and work," Daugherty said.
Ferrara says Thompson was on a date the night of his murder.
"My biggest fear is that this is just another gay guy that died in the gayborhood, you know?" she said.
Ferrara has a message for the killer.
"God loves you, too," she said.
Ferrara wants them to come forward, but she’s also preaching forgiveness. She says it’s the way her best friend would’ve responded.
"If anything, people will see what a light he was and remember that," she said.
Dallas police haven’t said if they have a possible suspect or a description of a suspect.