Crime Alert

Dallas police report active shooter near Victory Park in downtown

UPDATE: Police apprehended the shooting suspect at around 1 pm. No injuries were reported.

Dallas police are investigating an active shooter situation in downtown. The Perot Museum, Dallas Aquarium, W Hotel and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts are all on lockdown. Police report that the active shooter call came from the Vista Apartments located in the 2300 block of Houston Street.

Around 10 am on Tuesday, March 25, an unknown number of shots were fired from inside an apartment unit. No injuries have been reported at this time. Around 11:30 am, Dallas SWAT reported that it was dealing with a barricaded person related to the active shooter call. Shortly after noon, SWAT set off a flash bang to distract the suspect.

Multiple law enforcement units are on the scene at Victory Park and police are asking everyone to avoid the area. To assist with the investigation, police have shut down northbound Houston Street at Lamar, as well as Olive, Museum Way, Highmark and Victory Park. AT&T Performing Arts Center announced it was going on lockdown around noon "as a precautionary measure."

At 12:15 pm, Sgt. Warren Mitchell addressed the media in the parking lot of the Perot Museum. He said that officers were responding to a "shots fired" call when they discovered an armed individual had created a barricade inside the apartment complex. Mitchell would not confirm reports of an ambulance seen leaving the building.

"SWAT has contained the scene for right now. The situation is still ongoing," Mitchell said. "That's about all the information we can give out at this time."

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E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council approves restrictions on vaping in public

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Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

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