High Profile Shootings Raise Safety Concerns In Dallas Neighborhood
DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - There are growing safety concerns in one Dallas neighborhood after two high profile shootings in the past month.
Monday night, an apparent drive-by shooting shattered windows at a normally busy laundromat in the area near Forest Lane and Audelia Road in Lake Highlands.
Three weeks ago, 15-year-old Christopher Gordon was murdered. Police believe the high school football player was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
For many who live in this area, violence has become the norm.
A convenience store in a nearby shopping center purposely pumps the volume of music as loud as possible to annoy drug dealers and prevent loiterers from congregating.
"They are not our customers," said Julius Ogunleye from EZ Food Store. "They come in large numbers to scare our customers away."
Families trying to use the neighborhood laundromat were forced to bypass the bullet holes and broken glass from Monday night's drive by gunfire.
Murray Morgan, who lives a few blocks from Forest and Audelia, says neighbors have adapted to this way of life.
"You have to understand, this neighborhood has lived with it for 15 years now. Is it worse today than ten years ago? No," said Morgan.
More than 20-thousand people fill the huge apartment communities that line the Forest/Audelia area. Dallas Police have initiated special crime reduction efforts in the area.
But for those homeowners, who have this corner as their community shopping center, it is the place to bypass, because crime, drugs and violence now define this block.
"That's part of the lifestyle. It's times of the day you never go up there," said Murray. "I don't like driving through there."
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