Police Presence Couldn't Stop Dallas Halloween Shootings

At least 13 people were killed and 92 injured in shootings across the United States over Halloween weekend, CNN's preliminary estimates show. The tally draws in part on the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive and isn't exhaustive. Celebrations, football events and parties were interrupted; ordinary people bore the cost in deaths, injuries and trauma.

A weekend under armed watch

In Dallas' Deep Ellum nightlife district, three shootings began just after midnight, killing four people and injuring at least 15 others. Police had already assigned more officers to the area for Halloween events. “We had more presence out here, and this was something that we were ramped up for,” Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux told reporters. He said the number of injured was “still moving a little bit,” with some people taking themselves for medical care.

Police were also assigned to Fayetteville, Arkansas' Dickson Street area for Halloween festivities and a University of Arkansas home football game. Just after 1:40 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to a nearby shooting and found six people shot. All went to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Two shootings happened minutes apart after the Magic City Classic football game between Alabama State University and Alabama A&M University in Birmingham, Alabama. Near vendors outside Legion Field, gunfire killed one person and wounded eight, Birmingham police said. A 17-year-old who wasn't affiliated with either university was taken into custody, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said. The teen had a gun with a Glock conversion switch, Woodfin said.

People pay; officials speak

In Fairfield, California, Constance Hages, 31, was at a Spirit Halloween store when gunfire erupted at 8:30 p.m. Friday, police said. Family members said Hages was pregnant. Six others were wounded, including three critically. The shopping center canceled a trick-or-treating event planned for the next day.

Delaware recorded two mass shootings on Halloween night. In Ellendale, someone fired into an outdoor party from a neighboring property just before 10 p.m., according to the State Police's preliminary investigation. Nine people were shot, including a 17-year-old girl who later died. The injured ranged in age from 17 to 22.

Around 11:13 p.m., gunfire on a crowded Main Street near the University of Delaware in Newark wounded six people, who were taken to hospitals, Newark Police said. University of Delaware President Laura A. Carlson asked people to keep the victims in their thoughts and recognize the toll on students and community members who witnessed the violence. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer said, “This is not normal. We must never accept gun violence as a part of life in Delaware.”

In Jacksonville, Florida, a 17-year-old girl was fatally shot and two others wounded while people waited in line for a party around 1:45 a.m. Two instances of gunfire at a house party just over two hours later killed a 20-year-old man and injured nine people aged 15 to 25. One had a life-threatening injury. Police said fights led to gunfire at both parties.

The toll keeps spreading

Shootings in Bloomington, Illinois, and Bloomington, Indiana, left one person dead and 14 injured early Sunday. In Illinois, police found multiple people with gunshot wounds after responding at about 1:23 a.m. CT. Officials said eight victims had been identified, including a 19-year-old woman pronounced dead at the scene. Another woman was in critical condition, and six others had non-life-threatening injuries.

In Indiana, seven people aged 17 to 27 were injured when shots were fired around 1:30 a.m. ET as city and Indiana University officers monitored a large downtown crowd. Mayor Kerry Thomson said all seven were from the Indianapolis area and none attended school in Bloomington. One person was arrested while trying to flee from police while armed, city officials said.

The shootings also killed one woman and injured two teenage boys and a man at a party in Flint, Michigan. In Wichita, Kansas, four people were shot at an after-party; one, a 36-year-old man, was struck in the face by a stray bullet while looking out his window. Near Edinburg, Texas, seven people suffered non-life-threatening injuries at a Halloween birthday party.

In Jackson, Mississippi, two men wearing ski masks entered a nightclub costume party, and at least one fired into the dance-floor crowd. A man and a woman were killed and four others injured, police said. The Gun Violence Archive's ongoing tally showed nearly 400 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, more than one a day. Just over two weeks before this weekend, a mass shooting at an Oregon elementary school killed three students and a teacher inside a special needs classroom.

At Birmingham's game, Woodfin said people could grieve and seek justice while continuing to celebrate the tradition. “We can have an honest conversation about public safety while continuing to embrace and celebrate the traditions that have helped shape our city and our institution,” he told reporters Sunday afternoon. He had posted pictures of himself at the game Saturday evening.