Dallas police announced on Thursday, November 12, that they have arrested 18-year-old Justin Murdock on a charge of capital murder of multiple persons in the Crowdus Street shooting in Deep Ellum, the triple homicide that formed the deadliest part of the Halloween night violence in the entertainment district east of downtown Dallas. It is the first capital-murder charge filed in the Crowdus Street case, nearly two weeks after the shootings.
Source: The Dallas Focal
Police said Murdock was taken into custody late on Tuesday, November 10. Detectives identified him through witness statements, surveillance video, photographs and other technology before obtaining an arrest warrant, the department said. The charge is an allegation: Murdock is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The shooting he is accused of happened in the 200 block of South Crowdus Street in the early hours of Sunday, November 1. Officers arriving at the scene found three people shot; two died at the scene and a third died at a hospital, police said.
The night Deep Ellum turned deadly
The Crowdus Street killings were one of three separate shootings that tore through Deep Ellum within about half a mile of one another as Halloween crowds filled the district. Across the three scenes, four people were killed and 15 others were injured. Police said at the time that they had found no evidence the three shootings were connected, and the investigations have run in parallel since.
The four people killed across the three shootings were identified as Isaiah Boling, 20; Kenesia Scott, 21; Anthony Martin, 25; and Unique Benjamin, 28. Families have been mourning the victims while detectives worked through video, witnesses and forensic evidence from three separate scenes.
This arrest builds on developments Awaaz Punjab has already reported from Deep Ellum: the original three shootings and the first arrests, the launch of the federal Operation Deep Cover crackdown on violent crime in the district, and the federal firearms charge filed on November 5 against David Yancy. The Murdock arrest is a new and separate step — the first homicide charge tied directly to the Crowdus Street triple killing.
In the earlier arrest, police said David Yancy was taken into custody on November 4 after admitting he fired into a crowd from a parking lot on Main Street; seven people were injured in that shooting. Federal prosecutors separately charged Yancy as a felon in possession of a firearm, as Awaaz Punjab reported on November 5. That is a firearms charge, not a homicide charge, and police have not announced any link between Yancy and the Crowdus Street killings.
At a Thursday afternoon press conference, Police Chief Comeaux said the Murdock arrest represents a significant step in an investigation that has stretched nearly two weeks. He said additional arrests are expected and urged anyone with information about the shootings to come forward.
Investigators are still asking for the public's help identifying three people seen on video leaving the area around midnight, who detectives believe may have information about the shootings. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dallas Police Department.
A security debate in the entertainment district
The killings have forced a wider argument about safety in Deep Ellum. The department said more than 50 officers were assigned to the area on Halloween night, and the chief has promised a more visible police presence along with undercover officers. Some business owners and city leaders have called for a juvenile curfew in the entertainment district. Street closures have also split opinion: one bar owner shared a traffic map showing extended police closures and said the restrictions went too far by limiting access to parking and discouraging visitors, while others welcomed the additional security.
What happens next: Murdock remains in custody on the capital-murder charge; a Dallas television report said no bond was listed for him. Capital murder of multiple persons is among the most serious charges in Texas law. Police say the wider investigation into all three Halloween shootings is ongoing, with more arrests expected — and for Dallas's large South Asian and Punjabi community, many of whom work and socialise in the downtown and Deep Ellum area, the case is being watched closely as the district heads into the busy holiday season.