Dallas Police report nearly 760 shooting calls on New Year's Eve

Neighbors in Oak Cliff’s Elmwood community say they often hear guns fired, though it’s amplified during celebrations like New Year’s Eve.

As Dallas rang in 2026, fireworks were met with a barrage of gunfire.

“Especially between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., you hear firecrackers, but you also hear gunshots. Even now, you can hear some, right?” said Violeta Galanardo.

Neighbors in Oak Cliff’s Elmwood community say they often hear guns fired, though it’s amplified during celebrations like New Year’s Eve.

“It’s like a mix, a lot of 9 millimeters probably. We’ve got a lot of people who have Ars, .223 caliber and just generally people unloading a whole 10, 15 round clip at a time pretty consistently throughout the night,” said Andrew Cagle.

Cagle, who’s lived in Elmwood for six years, said a friend’s roof was recently damaged. He keeps his kids indoors on nights when he expects heavy gunfire.

Others told NBC5 that they limit the time outside for pets.

“The last city I experienced this in was Beirut. I lived in Lebanon, so we had some of this there, but I’ve actually heard more of this here in Oak Cliff than I did in Beirut,” he said.

On New Year's Day, Dallas police said they received 759 calls related to celebratory gunfire over the holiday.

Fort Worth reported 70 calls, saying many others were redirected to a non-emergency line.

A woman in Winnetka Heights who didn’t want to be identified told NBC5 that she called three times, but it didn't stop the sound of rapid fire.

Video taken in West Dallas tells a similar story.

“I think our police are doing the best they can, but we definitely need more,” said long-time Elmwood resident Janet Smith.

While Elmwood residents said they’re not aware of any injuries, they fear that without a solution, it’s only a matter of time.

“The main concern is safety, of course. Everything that goes up must come down, so it’s something that worries us,” said Galanardo.

Earlier this month, Dallas police announced a plan to use technology like license plate readers, cameras and drones to respond to random gunfire.

That comes after department leadership told the Dallas City Council, a new gunshot detection system wasn't as successful as they had hoped.