Several units were dispatched shortly before 3:30 p.m. to the 9300 block of Forest Lane.
By Jamie Landers and Elissa Jorgensen
Staff Writers
Dallas Morning News
Angela Piazza / Staff Photographer
One person is dead and two others were wounded Wednesday afternoon after gunfire erupted at a Lake Highlands Walmart, officials say.
A police call log showed several units were dispatched shortly before 3:30 p.m. to the Walmart located in the 9300 block of Forest Lane, near Interstate 635.
Jason Evans, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman, told The Dallas Morning News two women were wounded and taken to the hospital. Both were declared stable.
According to police officials, the shooter, who was not publicly identified, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“I was sitting in my car reading some documents when I heard a popping noise outside,” said Sirrano Baldeo, who previously ran for Dallas City Council in District 10. “At first I thought it was a balloon, but then I thought, ‘No, this is Walmart in a dangerous area. It has to be gunshots.’”
When he turned around, Baldeo said he saw a man running through the parking lot shooting at a woman.
“I was sitting in my car reading some documents when I heard a popping noise outside,” said Sirrano Baldeo, who previously ran for Dallas City Council in District 10. “At first I thought it was a balloon, but then I thought, ‘No, this is Walmart in a dangerous area. It has to be gunshots.’”
When he turned around, Baldeo said he saw a man running through the parking lot shooting at a woman.
Less than an hour after the shooting, more than a dozen Dallas police and Dallas Fire-Rescue vehicles gathered in the southwest corner of the store’s parking lot. Pedestrians crowded around the yellow police tape that sectioned off the lot surrounding a black car covered in a yellow tarp.
One of the two entrances to the parking lot was blocked off by police cruisers.
As of 6:30 p.m., police still had not removed the suspected shooter’s body from the passenger side of the car.
A spokesperson for Walmart’s corporate office declined comment, saying the retailer would defer to law enforcement for any updates because it was an active investigation.
Staff Writer Matt Kyle contributed to this report.
Jamie Landers is a breaking news reporter at The Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix, where she studied journalism and political science. Jamie previously reported for The Arizona Republic and Arizona PBS.
Elissa Jorgensen is a breaking news reporter at The Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of Texas State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in mass communication. Elissa previously reported for the Houston Chronicle and Texas Community Health News.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
