At a Glance
- Dallas logged 759 calls for gunfire on New Year’s Eve.
- Fort Worth reported 70 calls, many redirected to a non-emergency line.
- Police plan to deploy license-plate readers, cameras and drones after a gunshot detection system failed.
- Why it matters: Residents in Dallas’s Oak Cliff neighborhood are hearing gunfire amid fireworks, raising safety concerns and prompting new technology to curb the problem.
As Dallas rang in 2026, fireworks were met with a barrage of gunfire, leaving residents in the Oak Cliff Elmwood community on edge. The city’s police department received hundreds of calls about celebratory gunfire, prompting a new tech-driven response.
Celebratory Gunfire Overwhelms Emergency Lines
During the New Year’s Eve celebrations, Dallas police logged 759 calls related to gunfire, while Fort Worth logged 70. Many of the Fort Worth calls were redirected to a non-emergency line.
Residents report hearing gunshots between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., with the noise amplified during celebrations. The sound blends with fireworks, creating a chaotic atmosphere.
Violeta Galanardo said:
> “Especially between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., you hear firecrackers, but you also hear gunshots. Even now, you can hear some, right?”
Andrew Cagle said:
> “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,”
Andrew Cagle said:
> “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,”
Andrew Cagle said:
> “I keep my kids indoors on nights when I expect heavy gunfire, and a friend’s roof was recently damaged.”
Janet Smith said:
> “I think our police are doing the best we can, but we definitely need more,”
Violeta Galanardo said:
> “The main concern is safety, of course. Everything that goes up must come down, so it’s something that worries us,”
Anonymous woman in Winnetka Heights said:
> “I called three times, but it didn’t stop the sound of rapid fire.”
Video footage from West Dallas shows a similar pattern of gunfire.
Police Plan to Deploy Technology
Earlier this month, Dallas police announced a plan to deploy license-plate readers, cameras and drones to respond to random gunfire. The plan follows a report that a new gunshot detection system had underperformed, according to department leadership presented to the Dallas City Council.
| City | Calls | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 759 | |
| Fort Worth | 70 | Many redirected to non-emergency line |
Key Takeaways
- Residents in Oak Cliff are hearing gunfire amid fireworks.
- Dallas logged 759 calls; Fort Worth logged 70.
- Police plan to use new technology after a gunshot detection system failed.
With new technology in development, residents hope the noise of celebratory gunfire will soon be replaced by the sound of fireworks alone.
