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Where are Dallas murders happening? Police say apartments, and officials plan to focus on them

Eleven of 21 murders in January happened at apartment complexes, Dallas police say.

After paramedics came and went, all that remained in the spot where Brionne Williams spent her final moments was a bloodstained teal jacket with a gaping hole where the bullet struck, killing her.

It was the last outfit worn by the 24-year-old mother of two young girls, who was fatally shot Jan. 13 in her Pleasant Grove apartment. Her aunt, Courtney Williams, points to the bloodied clothing as proof of the justice she said still needs to be served.

Courtney Williams with a wreath of photos of her niece, Brionne.
Courtney Williams with a wreath of photos of her niece, Brionne.(Rebecca Slezak / Staff Photographer)

“She just really didn’t deserve this,” Williams said. “She was a loving, kind, nice person. I can honestly say she never hurt anybody.”

Brionne Williams was one of 21 people murdered in Dallas last month, up from 18 murders in January 2021, even as overall violence remains down, according to police. Eleven of those slayings occurred at apartment complexes, police said. Data about murders at Dallas apartment complexes over a longer period of time weren’t immediately available.

Those slayings came as police prepare to unveil a plan to confront violence at apartment complexes, which they say have consistently been the No. 1 location for murders in the city. Officials propose forming a new strategic team to address violence at multifamily properties. The city plans for several agencies, including the police department and code compliance, to work together to reduce crime.

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Dallas police say Brionne’s suspected killer, Kenneth Carraway, is still on the run. They dated on and off for about three years, and the couple had long had problems that at times escalated into violence, Williams said. She said Brionne posted on Instagram that she was single hours before she was killed.

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Kenneth Carraway
Kenneth Carraway(Dallas Police Department)

Unlike in some unsolved homicides recorded in Dallas last month, detectives identified a suspect in Brionne’s case. Police have been searching for Carraway as loved ones mourn.

Courtney Williams remembered her niece as a jokester who was happy and loving. She loved taking the two daughters she had with Carraway — Kenzie, 2, and Kenylaa, 1 — on vacation and to parks.

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Since her mother’s death, Kenzie calls out “I want my mama” at night, Williams said.

“I know that she knows that her mom is gone,” Williams said, “but I don’t want to tell her your mom is never coming back. I don’t feel like telling her that, so I just tell her, ‘Mama going to come give you a kiss tonight.’

Daughters of Brionne Williams, Kenylaa, 1, and Kenzie, 2, pose for a portrait Friday in...
Daughters of Brionne Williams, Kenylaa, 1, and Kenzie, 2, pose for a portrait Friday in Mesquite.(Rebecca Slezak / Staff Photographer)
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The night of Brionne’s killing, her mother and aunt heard gunfire and saw Carraway run out of the apartment, Williams said. Carraway called Brionne’s sister afterward saying he didn’t mean to do it, Williams said, but the family doesn’t think the shooting was an accident.

The family hasn’t heard from Carraway since, Williams said.

“It’s just not fair to us or to her children that he’s just still out scot-free and we’re left suffering and to mourn now,” Williams said.

Focus on apartments

Although Dallas police recorded a slight uptick in murders and domestic violence assaults last month compared with January 2021, both trended down halfway through February.

Police are still implementing Chief Eddie García’s crime plan, which was launched May 7 and focuses on heightening resources in about 50 small “hot spots” — or 330-foot-by-330-foot grids in Dallas where rates of violence are high. The plan also aims to disrupt criminal networks and to change the behavior of high-risk offenders through arrests, community involvement and social services.

One month isn’t a wide enough snapshot to evaluate the effectiveness of a crime plan, and overall, violent crime has remained down in 2022.

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There was a 15.7% drop in violent crime last month compared with January 2021, which translates into 161 fewer victims, police said. There were 55 fewer aggravated assaults and 62 fewer robberies, but murders were up by three victims.

Along with Brionne Williams, victims killed include Crystal Rodriguez, 18, killed in a drive-by shooting as she slept in her Old East Dallas home; Cedrick White, 34, beaten and shot while playing games at a northeast Dallas liquor store; and Anthony Maynard, 26, fatally shot over living arrangements at a Lake Highlands apartment. At the city public safety committee’s February meeting, Dallas police Maj. Paul Junger said four of the slayings were family-violence-related, compared with zero domestic murders in January 2021.

Dallas police Chief Eddie García talks on the phone in his office at Jack Evans Police...
Dallas police Chief Eddie García talks on the phone in his office at Jack Evans Police Headquarters on Jan. 25, in Dallas. (Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)

Apartments were the No. 1 location for murders and robberies and the No. 2 location, behind single-family homes, for aggravated assaults last month. Junger predicted apartments would overtake single-family homes as the top spot for aggravated assaults as the year continues.

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A new plan

For months, police have acknowledged the problem of recurring violence at apartment complexes. City Council members have repeatedly urged the department to formulate a plan to target problem locations — one part of which was unveiled to the public safety committee last week as a peek into the larger plan.

David Pughes, head of the Dallas Office of Integrated Public Safety Solutions, told the committee about strategies that are expected to be integrated with the police department’s wider plan. He said a main component includes forming a nuisance response team managed by his office and comprising officials from Dallas police, the city attorney’s office, code compliance and Dallas Fire-Rescue.

David Pughes, a former Dallas police executive assistant chief who now heads the city's...
David Pughes, a former Dallas police executive assistant chief who now heads the city's Office of Integrated Public Safety Solutions, unveiled part of a new plan to tackle crime at apartment complexes.(Staff Photographer)
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The team would use data to identify multifamily properties that attract crime, and then collaboratively investigate, Pughes said. He proposed a new system that could flag places seemingly headed toward becoming habitual criminal properties so the team could carry out preemptive steps there.

He said that officials could also train property owners. As an example of a problem property, he cited 3550 E. Overton Road in east Oak Cliff, which he said has been one of the top complexes related to criminal activity for the last decade. Just last week, Dallas recorded a homicide on that block.

But, Pughes said, the team wouldn’t only focus on multifamily properties. Eventually, it could target convenience stores, nightclubs, illegal game rooms, boarding homes, hotels, motels and short-term rentals in Dallas.

Pughes said police will focus on arresting people committing crimes at multifamily properties. Junger said that police will try to change those environments by making complexes feel like more of a community.

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Police intend to announce a more comprehensive look into the plan next month.

“We’re trying to think big and understand that when we have success, which I know we will, we have the ability to utilize this long-term strategy in these other areas that have been legacy problems for too long,” Pughes said.