18-year-old arrested in Deep Ellum Halloween shootings

Good afternoon, everybody. Casey Stiegel here with Fox 4 News. We'd like to welcome all of our viewers on the Fox local app. We want to take you live to Dallas Police Headquarters, where you see Police Chief Daniel Como taking the podium right now to update us on the arrest and the Halloween shootings that occurred in Deep Ellum on Halloween. Let's listen in. Our homicide and assault detectives, along with our crime scene units and other support staff, We have put non-stop work in to documenting this investigation about these shootings. They've been working pretty much around the clock so we can bring some closure on these incidents. Last week, we arrested the suspect responsible for the shootings wounding seven people. And late Tuesday night, we arrested the suspect responsible for the capital murder on Crowder Street. Deputy Chief Williams will share more details about this investigation right now. This shooting occurred in the 200 block of South Crowder Street in the early hours of November 1st. Officers located three people who had been shot, including two had died at the scene, and another who had died at the hospital. Several victims were located at area hospitals with gunshot wounds, and all are expected to survive. One victim still remains hospitalized. Our detectives were able to identify 18-year-old Justin Murdoch through witness statements, surveillance videos, photographs taken that night, and technology, including ALPR. Based on the information that detectives confirmed in the investigation, they obtained a warrant for capital murder of multiple persons, and the fugitive unit arrested Murdoch late Tuesday evening. As more information is confirmed, there are additional arrests expected. There is still an open and ongoing investigation and we are asking for anyone's information on any of these shootings to contact us. Now I'll turn it over to Senior Corporal Mata for his remarks in Spanish. Thank you, Chief. My name is Luis Mata, Portavoz del Departamento de la Policía de Dallas. We are here today to provide an update on the events that took place in Deep Ellum on Halloween night. Nuestros detectives de homicidios y asaltos, junto con nuestra unidad de la escena del crimen y otro personal de apoyo, han trabajado sin descanso para documentar e investigar estos tiroteos. La semana pasada, arrestamos al sospechoso responsable de disparar y herir a siete personas. El martes por la noche, arrestamos al sospechoso responsable en la calle Charles. Este tiroteo ocurrió en la cuadra 200 de la calle South Charles en las primeras horas del primero de noviembre. Los oficiales localizaron a tres personas heridas de bala. Okay, so we're listening in now at some of the remarks being given in Spanish, but I just want to recap the headline that was just announced, that another arrest has been made in connection to these shootings that happened on the night of Halloween, the early morning hours of Sunday, so actually November 1st, because they all happened after midnight. Four people lost their lives in those shootings. Fifteen other people were injured. And there were three different shootings, And police have said all along that they have been treating. We're treating all of those crimes as independent investigations. It was just after midnight, 1220, when gunfire broke out in the 2600 block of Elm Street. Then at 105 a.m., the 2600 block of Main Street, several were wounded in that shooting. And then. About 30 minutes later, in the 200 block of Crowder Street, three people were killed after gunfire erupted at that location. That was the last of three shootings, and that is the arrest that has just been announced. Dallas police now saying that late Tuesday night, they arrested this man, 18-year-old Justin Murdoch, and he has been charged with capital murder of multiple people. The police chief is taking the podium again. Let's listen back in. I want to thank the Deep Ellum business community for their assistance in helping solve these violent crimes. The cameras that are out there are truly helping us solve these crimes. As Chief Griffin said, this is still an open and ongoing investigation. Please contact us if you have any other information about these homicides. At this time, we'll take some questions. Chief, let me ask you, sir, what are the circumstances of Mr. Murdoch's shooting in the 200 block of Crowder's? As I understand it from what I'm hearing, all three victims are from his gun and other victims apparently. Tell us. So, John, repeat that question? Yeah. What happened in the 200 block of Crowder's? Well, we believe it's a confrontation occurred, a disturbance, and we believe that one of the complainants was talking to some girls just on Crowder itself, and again, a disturbance resulted on that, and we believe the shots were fired. We still don't have all the circumstances that went on that night. This is why it's still ongoing. This is why additional arrests could be made based on what we're getting. I can tell you, though, that every time the media puts out something regarding this incident. We do get potential witnesses and leads regarding that investigation. So it's still ongoing, still a lot of witnesses out there. Based on the video that we did see out there, there's some additional witnesses out there that we really, really need to talk to who may have some video related to the incident itself. We're still trying to pinpoint exactly what happened, but we believe it's a disturbance. So Kenesha Scott, Unique Benjamin, Anthony Martin, were they part of the disturbance? Just out there and was shot by wild bullets. So one of the victims, Mr. Martin, was inside the vehicle that's related to, had been talking to the girls that were out there when the shots were fired. We believe Ms. Scott and Ms. Benjamin were just innocent bystanders who just got caught up in the gunfire. Thanks, sir. And Chief Williams. The video that was put out by the department has two other people. Have you all identified those people, located and spoke with them, and what is their relevance to the investigation? We've identified a lot of people. I don't want to get specifics on who we've identified as part of the group that was out there that night. That's just still part of the investigation. But we're very confident based on leads that we have received and video that's out there that we'll be able to totally identify everybody out there. Hi, Chief Lord, nice to meet everyone. I just heard you guys thank the businesses, which, you know, we thank them too, because we love them a lot. But what plans do you guys have in place to pack down some of the bars that are maybe selling, you know, with both alcohol to these people that are coming down through the street, all trying to pull down through the streets? Yes. So we're looking at everything out there in Deep Ellum. We want to figure out how to keep everybody safe and everyone have a good time when they're out in Deep Ellum. And that also includes holding businesses accountable. That is something that we're definitely looking at. No one, no business should serve someone that's already drunk more liquor. Right? So that is something that we're going to keep an eye on. We're going to figure out how to attack that problem and do everything to keep everyone safe out there. Thank you very much. Yeah, so there's a number of people, right? And that's something that we're not going to talk about exactly how many because we still have information coming in. We still have videos coming in. But we're getting a pretty good idea of putting a full puzzle together, and every time we put another piece of the puzzle together that can lead to an arrest, we're going to go pick them up. And he. Well, I think everybody knows that we're serious about keeping everyone safe, and especially the example that we set by taking some of the cases federal, right? Especially those who are carrying guns that don't deserve, I shouldn't say don't deserve, those that should not be carrying guns, that are carrying guns, and them going federal. We're letting everyone know, don't come out there with guns. Don't come out there trying to create violence. And I think this past week was a good example of what Deep Ellum can look like. Chief Como, if you could, two questions. Do you perceive federal charges being brought against this suspect that you're announcing the arrest for today? And then can you provide an update on the two other shooting investigations? So the first question, what we're going to do as a police department, wherever we get the biggest bang for the buck, if that's through the state, through the county, we're going to do that. If it's through federal prosecution, we're going to do that. Everything's on the table. If you commit crimes like this, you should pay for those So whatever the best penalty is, that's what we're going to do from the Dallas Police Department. And the first question I answered too long. What was the second one again? The second one was just if you could provide whatever information you can provide as an update for the other two shooting investigations. So I'm going to turn that over to Chief because I want to make sure I don't say something I'm not supposed to say. Right. Okay, so the Main Street, we did make an arrest on that offense with the individual. The second on Elm Street, we are still, after track down, we received several leads regarding that investigation, and we are going through those leads right now. We're still trying to contact businesses regarding video that may be out there again. Based on some of the video that we've seen, there's a lot of witnesses out there, and so we still encourage individuals who saw something or may have something on their phone to contact us so we can get an additional idea. But it's still moving. It's still moving. And so we don't have an exact idea of what has gone on there yet. We're getting close. But we're still trying to figure some things out. So we're having to interview some witnesses that we got on leads this past week as well. No, Flock has helped on both the Main Street and the crowds incident. Flock was used in identifying vehicles involved in that incident as well. So they're part of that quite a bit. I can say that, pardon me, what do you mean the metrics? It'll be part of the case, yes ma'am, it will be. And I can say that the detectives wanted me to relay this information that the Deep Ellum Foundation assisted quite a bit with us getting us in touch with some of the businesses that were closed that next day to obtain video from that location and also the video that the Deep Ellum Foundation has as well. So they've helped us quite a bit with video related to all the offenses that occurred out there. So that's still part of the investigation on how many shooters there were. Based on our evidence, we feel that there was different weapons out there that were used, and we're still going through that information right now and that evidence that we have right now. So basically, on Corrales, we had five injured. One is still in the hospital as a result of that. That's why the investigation is still open, and there's additional arrests expected. And to be clear, we never saw video of this man, Murdoch, and the other suspects or anything that happened on Crowdus. You were working that through other sources, and that was never released. Is that right? That is correct. We were very close to identifying the individuals on the video that we have right now, so we did not want to release that until we were sure that we had identity on that. Thank So that's why we have not released it as well. Well, and also we have. Photographs from cell phones that helped us put the suspect as the person who did this. Can either one of you talk about the men and women in homicide and how they picked this up and wouldn't let it go? I know some you. of them that worked around the clock. Yes, so they wanted to solve this case as quickly as possible and they worked hours and hours going through a lot of video, a lot of surveillance video, a lot of flop video and talking to witnesses. You know, there was a lot of witnesses that we had to talk to. They were working around the clock for a very long time. Thank Actually, this past weekend, I had to ask them to take a day off and get some sleep because they were working so hard. So they took a couple days off just to... Because I need them fresh, right? But they're very passionate about solving this. And you can see, we've been able to make arrests on Main Street and Crowdus you. with additional coming, and they're working diligently with Elm Street as well. Pardon me? I'm not... On Main Street? No. These are... All these shootings were separate incidents. They're not related. Chief Williams, if you could talk a little bit more about... You know, Chase, I've got to say, this is Chief Griffith, man. Oh, man. You're killing me, Chase. You started it. Yes, I do. And you started it, and everyone else went there. I keep using your person. Yes. Yeah, if you could share a little bit more detail about the technology being used, the degree to which block is being used, if technologies like Clearview AI were used in the investigation. So, with Flock, you know, we did identify a vehicle that was used to leave the scene of the offense. So, we was able to use surveillance video and Flock to determine about that vehicle. Their surveillance video, Deep Elm Foundation, and those businesses down in that area have really good video. Some of them have really good video. And so, we were able to identify individuals from that as well. And so just like Main Street, the surveillance video, we were able to determine, you know, which way the suspect had fled, and then we received witness information on how the suspect had left the scene, and so we was able to use Flock to identify how he left the scene and where the vehicle went after that. So based on the video that I've seen out there, the officer's response was outstanding. They got to the scenes of all these incidents very, very quickly, gained control, separated witnesses, and began treating victims that were out there. As they saw the amount of crowd that was out there, they called for additional assistance citywide so they can try to get control of it as quickly as soon as possible. Officers out there did a great job. With creating, setting up the crime scene, adhering to the, or helping the victims out at the scene, and then able to maintain and get all the investigative units out there to be able to process it. The, um, the... These officers, maybe about 30 or 40 officers that are kind of just at that corner. Well, we had three separate scenes on that night, and the response times was amazing on all three scenes, so we had the area covered. I'll tell you, one of the things with investigations like this, it's like a big jigsaw puzzle. And for the community, you never know if you have that one piece that's going to... Put this final puzzle together for these homicide detectives that are not stopping, and they're going to figure it out. And I'll tell you, I've been here 19 months, and I am so impressed with this homicide team. I look at the clearance rate of what homicide is doing, and I have to question it because I did not understand it because it's over 100% right now. But that's even from some of the old cases from previous years that are being solved right now. This team is going to continue to work, but you might have that one piece or that one picture that's going to finish putting this puzzle together. So I ask you and I plead with you, please continue to send in the videos, continue to send in the pictures so that last piece or two of this puzzle can be put together so these homicide detectives can solve this case fully. So thank you very much. Thank you, Chief. Thank you, Chief. All right, 2:28 in the afternoon here on this Thursday. Casey Stegall in the Fox 4 News digital studios where we have been listening in to the Dallas Police Department press conference that a new arrest has been made in those deadly shootings that happened the weekend of Halloween. This was after midnight on that Saturday into the early morning hours of November the 1st when four people lost their lives and at least 15 others were injured. Police say one person, in fact, is still in the hospital. As of today, and the headline out of here, another arrest has been made and they released his mugshot. A pretty young suspect, 18-year-old Justin Murdoch has now been arrested. We understand he has been charged with capital murder of multiple persons. That was related to the shooting that happened on South Crowder Street in the 200 block. Police saying that three people died in that one incident alone. Two at the scene, one victim was taken to the hospital and did not survive. Again, multiple people injured. They mentioned something about how that suspect there was talking to some girls and may have been linked to one of the victims in a car, but the other people who were shot and killed were classified as innocent bystanders. According to Deputy Chief William Griffith there with the Dallas Police Department. So the man you see on the right-hand side of your screen, 18-year-old Justin Murdoch, the latest arrest in this case, police say that witness statements, surveillance video, as well as ALPR, automatic license plate reader technology, or in other words, flock camera technology, helped lead them. To that guy Tuesday night when he was taken into custody. And one of the points that I should mention here, and they talked about this in last week's press conference that we brought you live, that had federal authorities present. They keep talking about more arrests are coming and that this has been a massive jigsaw puzzle. You heard the Dallas police chief, Daniel Como, talking about this being a massive jigsaw puzzle. And they have to piece all of those pieces together in order to get a clearer picture of what happened, but we know that three separate shootings took place in a pretty short period of time over the span of about 75 minutes in three different locations in the 2600 block of Main Street, the 2600 block of Elm Street, and then the 200 block of South Crowder Street, all close to Deep Ellum. Packed that night, again, Halloween, people were dressed up in costumes, out having a good time, a lot of the bars were about to close, so people were spilling out into the streets, and then you had three separate shootings, and they are still talking to witnesses, they are still monitoring surveillance video, and they're still asking for the public's help, asking anyone who might have photos from that night. Any relevant surveillance video that you've come across from that night and has not been turned over to police, a DPD asking that you send that information into them because they do expect more arrests to come. But again, they're just working their way through that giant jigsaw puzzle. So a lot to unpack here. You heard Fox 4's Sean Rabb. The first arrest that was made last week, Incidentally, you recall was Was brought on by Fox 4's own Sean Rabb and his track down series. They had shown surveillance video and it wasn't terribly long after Fox 4 aired that surveillance video that that suspect's friends encouraged himself to turn himself in. And November 4th is when David Yancey. Turned himself over to police after being plastered across the air on Fox 4's trackdown. So Sean Rabb is there. You heard him asking all of the relevant questions. He's working to piece everything together. We will have a complete wrap-up of this developing story, one that continues to evolve now here a couple of weeks after Halloween on Fox 4 News at 4 and 5, 5.30, 6, 9 and 10. We also have you covered here on Fox Local and across our social platforms. For now, I'm Casey Stegall, reporting live in the Dallas Fox 4 News studio. We now get back to your programming.