Community & Police Unite To Find Oak Lawn Attacker
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - There have been more than a dozen attacks in one Dallas neighborhood since September, but not a single suspect arrested. Now, community leaders in the Oak Lawn area are hoping that a visual display of trust with the Dallas Police Department will be the key to solving these cases.
Frustration among Oak Lawn residents is building. Some people have even claimed that this frustration has led to additional victims staying silent after being attacked.
Michael Dominguez does not like to talk about his story, but he shared it on Monday in hopes that other victims will also come forward. "We are in this together," he said. "We want justice to be served. We want these attacks to stop."
Dominguez was leaving a nightclub along Cedar Springs Road, but he does not remember what happened after that. "The next thing I know, I wake up in the trauma unit," he recalled. Pictures tell a better tale. Dominguez was hit in the head -- fracturing his skull and eye socket -- and then stabbed in the back and the arm.
"We are here because there is a problem," said Steve Rudner with Equality Texas. He was joined by Dominguez on Monday at the Dallas Police Department's headquarters, along Sheriff Lupe Valdez, District Attorney Susan Hawk, several police officers and LGBT community leaders. They wanted to make one thing clear.
They are all on the same team, with the same goal of solving this string of Oak Lawn attacks.
There have been 14 reported attacks in the Oak Lawn neighborhood since September, and community leaders explained that another six attacks -- at least -- were not reported to police. This missing information, the Dallas Police Department said, may provide the key to solving these cases.
"I would just encourage those victims that may be out there, in the strongest words possible, to give us the opportunity to hear what you have to say," said Maj. Max Geron with the Dallas Police Department, "to investigate those crimes and put together the pieces to solve the offenses."
This is why Dominguez felt comfortable sharing his story on Monday morning. In the past six months, he has come to realize that he is not alone in wanting these attacks to end. "They are wanting the exact same things as we want," Dominguez said, "so I'm hoping it goes a long way in healing relationships."
While the lack of arrests has been frustrating, officials have pointed to some positive steps toward making the Oak Lawn area safer including extra lights, 10 new police cameras, even more surveillance cameras added to area businesses and an increase in the citizen patrol group from five to 25 volunteers.
