'Nothing Like A Wild Shootout At 3AM': Old East Dallas Residents Upset After Shooting At Short-Term Rental
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Concerned Old East Dallas residents say a shooting at a short-term rental over the weekend once again highlights the dangers of having these types of properties in neighborhoods.
"It was one of the most terrifying few minutes of my life," one resident who wants to remain anonymous said.
He said he's used to waking up to loud parties, but never thought anything like what he witnessed on Saturday could happen.
"Nothing like a wild shootout at 3 a.m.," he said."I saw a man in a white T-shirt just shooting down the street - like 4,5,6 times."
Dallas Police were called to the home in the 4400 block of Sycamore Street after someone called 911 reporting two men were arguing and one had started shooting at the other.
Police said when they arrived both men were gone. At this point, it appears no one was injured. It's unclear if police plan to pursue a criminal investigation.
"Unfortunately, it's part of an ongoing pattern," Jessica Black said.
She's one of the founding members of Mom's Against STRs. In the last two years, she's tracked and researched more than 170 shootings at short term rentals across the county.
"As long as they are continuing to have these unsupervised short term rentals with really not much vetting.. they can't verify users are who they claim to be, that they've run a background, that they verifying a government ID, there's not always someone to check ID and greet them when they get there.. these incidents are going to keep happening," she said.
For more than a year, the City of Dallas has been considering stricter regulations on short term rental properties and have come up with some possible options.
They range from new requirements to banning short term rentals in certain neighborhoods all together.
Next month, the city will be hosting a short term rentals public hearing where people can give their thoughts. City Council will not be debating on this issue.
The city says it would take at least a year to implement any changes.
