“I'M TOO OLD TO BE JUMPING ON THE FLOOR.”
Highland Hills residents say they've been asking for help for years. After another deadly shooting, Dallas leaders finally walked the neighborhood.
Aqua RichJo/October 1, 2026
Imagine hearing gunshots outside your home so often that your response isn't shock anymore.
It's getting on the floor.
Now imagine being elderly and knowing that once you get down there, you might not be able to get yourself back up.
That's what Highland Hills resident Anita Harris described after years of shootings around the South Dallas apartment community residents call “The Pinks.”
“Every day, 24/7, it's some shooting, fighting,” Harris told CBS Texas. She said residents have been asking for help for years.
Then came September 12.
At approximately 12:55 a.m., Dallas police responded to the 5900 block of Highland Village Drive after unknown suspects fired multiple rounds.
Six people were shot.
Zariea Brown, 25, died at the hospital.
Five others survived.
As of the latest reporting reviewed by No Chill News, police had not publicly announced an arrest in Brown's killing.
And now City Hall is paying attention.
But Highland Hills residents have a fair question:
WHY DID IT TAKE THIS LONG?
CITY LEADERS CAME TO “THE PINKS”
On Tuesday, Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and Councilmember Lorie Blair walked through the neighborhood alongside residents.
This wasn't a random community tour.
Residents have been demanding help after repeated shootings and killings.
CBS Texas reported another shooting in July wounded two women, while residents described gunfire and fighting as an ongoing problem.
Chief Comeaux said police were investigating and were “getting close” to solving some cases in the area. He also said DPD would increase its presence in an effort to prevent additional crime.
That sounds promising.
But No Chill News needs everybody to understand something:
“GETTING CLOSE” IS NOT “CASE SOLVED.”
No arrest has been publicly announced in Brown's killing.
An increased police presence is not the same thing as a written long-term safety plan.
And one walk-through does not erase years of residents saying they needed help.
RESIDENTS SAY THEY'VE BEEN ASKING.
That's the part of this story that shouldn't get buried underneath another crime headline.
This isn't simply:
“Six people shot in Dallas.”
It's also a government-accountability story.
According to CBS Texas, residents said they've requested additional help for years. They also recalled DPD previously having a special patrol around The Pinks and said they want that kind of focused presence to return.
So now we need receipts.
When did residents first begin reporting these problems?
How many calls for service have originated from this apartment community and the surrounding blocks?
How many shootings remain unsolved?
How many complaints were made to property management?
How many code-enforcement complaints were filed?
And what happened after those complaints were made?
Because if residents have been documenting the same problems repeatedly, the public deserves to know what government agencies and property management knew, when they knew it and what they did about it.
AND MORE POLICE CAN'T BE THE ENTIRE PLAN.
Yes, residents deserve protection.
Yes, violent crimes need to be investigated.
Yes, people responsible for shootings should be held accountable through the justice system.
But if Dallas wants sustained change in Highland Hills, this conversation has to get bigger than patrol cars.
What about street and property lighting?
What about broken gates, abandoned units or other property conditions, where applicable?
What about youth programs and safe places for teenagers to go?
What about violence-interruption programs?
What about mental-health and trauma services for residents repeatedly exposed to gun violence?
What about tenant complaints and accountability for apartment management?
What resources are available for children who have learned to distinguish fireworks from gunshots before they've learned algebra?
And what happens six months from now when the television cameras aren't standing outside?
Because flooding a neighborhood with officers immediately after a high-profile shooting might address an immediate threat.
It does not automatically address the conditions residents say have been building for years.
ZARIEA BROWN WAS 25 YEARS OLD.
That needs its own space.
Because when we discuss shootings as numbers, people disappear inside the statistics.
One dead. Five injured. Six victims.
But Zariea Brown wasn't a number.
She was 25 years old.
Her death is now part of a police investigation, and her family is living with something no press conference or neighborhood walk-through can undo. Police said after the September 12 shooting that the motive and circumstances remained under investigation.
Any coverage involving Brown's family should center their consent and give them the opportunity to decide whether and how they want to speak publicly.
“WE'RE LISTENING” NEEDS A DEADLINE.
City Manager Tolbert told CBS Texas that city officials can't remain in their offices and expect to understand neighborhood problems without being on the ground.
Correct.
Now comes the harder part:
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE WALK?
No Chill News wants to see:
The patrol plan.
Calls-for-service data.
The number of unresolved shootings in and around Highland Hills.
Code-enforcement records for the apartment property.
Resident complaints and their dispositions.
Any existing violence-prevention resources assigned to the area.
And a public timeline telling residents when city leaders will return and report what actually changed.
Because accountability isn't:
“We visited.”
Accountability is:
“Here's what residents told us. Here's what we promised. Here's what we completed. Here's what we haven't completed. And here's when we're coming back.”
AND SOMEBODY NEEDS TO TALK TO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE.
Not just officials.
Residents.
Parents.
Young people.
Seniors.
Tenant advocates.
Community organizations.
Violence-interruption workers.
People who have called 911 repeatedly.
People who stopped calling because they felt nothing changed.
And yes, apartment management.
THE NO CHILL BOTTOM LINE
Dallas officials showing up in Highland Hills is a start.
It should not be treated like the finish line.
Residents shouldn't have to wait until six people are shot and a 25-year-old woman is dead before their neighborhood becomes urgent enough for top city officials to walk through it.
And residents shouldn't have to wonder whether the extra attention disappears as soon as the headlines do.
Highland Hills residents have told city leaders what they're experiencing.
City leaders have now walked the neighborhood.
Police have promised greater attention.
SO PUT IT IN WRITING.
Tell residents what's changing.
Tell them when it's changing.
Publish the numbers.
Report the progress.
Come back.
And if the plan isn't working?
CHANGE THE DAMN PLAN.
Because nobody should be lying on their bedroom floor listening to bullets outside and wondering:
“HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE HAVE TO GET SHOT BEFORE SOMEBODY LISTENS?”
No Chill NewsWhere the tea is piping and the truth has no filter.
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