Oak Lawn On Edge After Recent Attacks
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
OAK LAWN (CBSDFW.COM) - Speaking to a standing-room-only crowd, Dallas police and city council members tried to ease fears in the Oak Lawn community after seven different people have been violently attacked over the past six weeks.
"No matter what are they're living in, nobody should be afraid to walk," said Michael Dominguez, who was attacked on October 2.
Dominguez said that he was walking home just after 1:00 a.m. near Cedar Springs Road and Throckmorton Street when he was hit in the face and stabbed several times. The attack left him with a broken eye socket, a cracked skull and several stab wounds.
"It's definitely frustrating and it's scary and it's disheartening that something is going on during the last few weeks and we're being targeted," said Dominguez.
Investigators said that it does seem the men responsible for the crimes are zoning in on Oak Lawn.
Officers have reported a few of the attacks as robberies, others as assaults, and classified one of the incidents as a hate crime. Police are still investigating the attack on Dominguez and, so far, have classified it as an assault.
"Nothing was stolen from, period, and I was left for dead. I don't know what you call that other than a hate crime," said Dominguez.
Police have pledged more officer patrols, especially with the upcoming Halloween street party in Oak Lawn.
Council member Adam Medrano also promised to make sure that busted streetlights are fixed. "We try to make sure we don't just talk and that we have action," said Medrano.
Dominguez said, while he and others do not need to live in fear, they do need to be cautious and vocal. "I feel like, as a community, we have a history of standing up for ourselves. And I think this is a time we really need to stand up for ourselves," said Dominguez.
The city leaders in attendance on Wednesday said that they are looking into the possibility of installing more cameras in the area.
(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
