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Over the weekend one person was killed and 15 others wounded by gunfire at an unpermitted outdoor concert in Dallas TX, police said Monday.
According to ABC News, the victims ranged in age from 13 to 29 and were in stable condition, police Chief Eddie Garcia said during a Monday news conference.
Police said officers responded at about 12:13 a.m. on Sunday to the field in southwest Dallas where the concert was held. Garcia said that one person fired a gun into the air, then an argument broke out and another person fired in the crowd’s direction.
Where were the police on-scene?
Seven Dallas police officers were approved to work the event off-duty, but that shouldn’t have happened since the event didn’t have a permit, Garcia said. And according to the police chief, they had all left by the time the shooting happened.
Near the concert stage, police later found 26-year-old Kealon Dejuane Gilmore lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head. Gilmore died at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing. A police spokeswoman said the organizers’ identities were not immediately available, so they could not be reached for comment.
Concert changes announced by Police Chief Garcia.
Late Monday, Garcia issued a department-wide memorandum requiring officers accepting off-duty employment at an event with more than 100 guests to contact the department’s special events unit to ensure the event has a permit.
“This crime is a prime example that non-permitted and promoted events can lead to violence,” Garcia said. “While the off-duty employment was approved these officers should not have been working the event that had no permit.”