> At a Glance
> – 759 celebratory-gunfire calls flooded Dallas police on New Year’s Eve/Day
> – Oak Cliff’s Elmwood neighbors describe AR-15s and 9 mms firing clip after clip
> – Dallas plans license-plate readers, cameras, drones after shot-spotter flop
> – Why it matters: Stray bullets have already punched roofs; residents fear the next round will hit a person
As 2026 fireworks lit the sky, a second storm of bullets erupted across Dallas-triggering 759 emergency calls in a single night and pushing neighborhoods like Elmwood to their breaking point.
“Like Beirut-but Louder”
Violeta Galanardo stood on her Oak Cliff porch at 11 p.m. and couldn’t tell pops from gunshots.
> “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, a six-year Elmwood resident, says the calibers are easy to pick out:
- 9 mm handguns
- AR-15s in .223
- 10- to 15-round magazines dumped “pretty consistently throughout the night”
A friend’s roof took a stray; Cagle keeps his kids inside on big holidays.
Unidentified Elmwood caller told News Of Fort Worth:
> “The last city I experienced this in was Beirut… I’ve actually heard more of this here in Oak Cliff than I did in Beirut.”
759 Dallas Calls vs. 70 in Fort Worth
Dallas police logged 759 celebratory-gunfire complaints between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
Fort Worth recorded 70; extra calls there were rerouted to a non-emergency line.
Response Gap
A Winnetka Heights woman dialed 911 three times-yet rapid fire kept rattling her block.
> “I think our police are doing the best they can, but we definitely need more,” said long-time Elmwood resident Janet Smith.
| City | Celebratory-Gunfire Calls | Publicly Reported Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 759 | 0 (as of statements) |
| Fort Worth | 70 | 0 (as of statements) |
Tech Fix After Shot-Spotter Miss
Earlier this month Dallas police told the City Council their gunshot-detection system under-performed.
The new plan rolls out:
- License-plate readers
- Surveillance cameras
- Drone patrols
Residents say it can’t come soon enough.
> “The main concern is safety, of course. Everything that goes up must come down, so it’s something that worries us,” Galanardo said.
Key Takeaways
- 759 celebratory-gunfire calls hit Dallas in one night-ten times Fort Worth’s total
- Oak Cliff neighbors already dodge stray rounds; roofs, pets and kids are at risk
- Dallas is pivoting to cameras, drones and plate readers after its shot-spotter system fell short
- No injuries were reported this year, but residents call it “only a matter of time”
With New Year’s over but the gunfire echo still fresh, Elmwood locals say they’ll believe the city’s tech promise when quiet nights finally return.
