This story is part of The Dallas Morning News’ homicide project focused on sharing the stories of all people killed in Dallas in 2024.
Coriesha Bradford was the type of person who would take care of the children at family gatherings and, when she wasn’t busy with work, drive her grandmother around.
“She used to take care of me, she would do a lot for me,” Thelma Oudems, her grandmother, said during a conversation with The Dallas Morning News in April.
On many Sundays, Oudems and Bradford would sit in front of the TV to listen to sermons from Joel Osteen.
“That’s my guy,” Oudems said.
She said she leaned on the Houston-based televangelist’s messages for support after she learned that her granddaughter, who was 21 years old, was fatally shot during the early hours of April 14 in South Dallas.
Shortly after 11 p.m. the previous day, officers were dispatched to a shooting call in the 4500 block of Collins Avenue, according to police. Responding officers learned that a “large party” had ended in the area and the crowd at the party had moved into the street, police said.
The “gunfire had stopped” by the time officers arrived, police said, adding that officers “remained nearby” to monitor the crowd.
At about 1:35 a.m., shots were again reported at the location and Bradford was among the nine people — seven women and two men — who were injured, according to police. Bradford later died at a hospital, police said.
In a statement dated April 14, Dallas Police Chief Eddie García said he had “many questions” related to the shooting.
“While the preliminary investigation determined officers who responded did not observe criminal activity among the people in the area at the time, this event ultimately led to tragic consequences,” García said, adding that the department would conduct an internal investigation into “the circumstances of” the shooting call.
Dallas police on April 20 arrested a 28-year-old man who is accused of deadly conduct and allegedly firing a weapon into the air during the shooting in which Bradford was killed. The man was also accused of having methamphetamine, police have said.
Police have not confirmed whether or not the man arrested was responsible for Bradford’s death. In an email Thursday, Dallas police said they did not have any updates on the investigation, which is ongoing.
“She just picked the wrong night to go out, and that’s it,” Oudems said on the afternoon of April 14 in front of her Far East Dallas apartment.
Oudems and others who identified themselves as friends or family members of Bradford described how she loved to sing.
Bradford sang with an “old soul” a quality Oudems thinks her granddaughter picked up while spending time with her.
“She had a nice voice, you hear me? They wanted her to sing at church,” Oudems said.
Oudems said Bradford loved being outdoors and was part of a Girl Scout troop when she was younger.
Bradford loved the meetings and camping much more than selling cookies. She attended W.W. Samuell High School, according to her family.
“She was loved,” Oudems said.
