Three people were killed and a fourth hurt in a shooting at a West Dallas short-term rental party. The shooter is unknown. Two victims have been identified.
DALLAS, Texas — Three people were killed and a fourth injured early Monday in a shooting at a West Dallas party — one that police say was held inside a short-term rental — leaving neighbors stunned and grieving hours later.
“Why, man, to wake up to things like that. Why?” said Earl D. Thomas, a pastor in the neighborhood.
Dallas Police responded to the 3700 block of Vilbig Road around 12:20 a.m. and found three people who had been shot. Two died at the scene. A third died at the hospital. A fourth victim was transported to a hospital in a private vehicle and was listed in stable condition, according to police.
The shooter remains unknown.
Investigators recovered multiple shell casings outside the rental home as they worked to piece together what led to the gunfire. Police hope people in the neighborhood or attending the party may have seen or heard something that will help them identify the shooter.
“I rode bicycles in these streets,” Thomas said. “I was told that whoever was shooting was upstairs, shooting downstairs. I’m just like, why, it’s heartbreaking. It is heartbreaking.”
Two of the victims were identified as 20-year-old Jaiclyn Scott and 19-year-old Journie Griffin. The name of the third victim has not been released, pending family notification.
In a statement to WFAA, Journie’s mother, Cecilia Griffin, said,” She had just reached a major milestone in graduating, stepping into a new chapter of her life with dreams ahead of her and plans she was excited to pursue.
“She was 19 years old, full of life, personality, and potential. She had just reached a major milestone in graduating, stepping into a new chapter of her life with dreams ahead of her and plans she was excited to pursue. She had a strong, independent spirit — funny, outspoken, and never afraid to speak her mind. She was unapologetically herself in every space she walked into.
To her family, she was deeply loved and will always be remembered for the way she showed up in her own unique way — real, loyal, and full of energy. She didn’t have a large circle, but the bond she had with the people she loved was genuine and strong, and she impacted them in a lasting way.
Her presence, her laughter, and her fearless personality left a mark on everyone who knew her. Even in her passing, the love she gave and the memories she created will continue to live on through her family and all who were close to her,” Cecilia Griffin said in a statement.
“That’s just so sad. Young kids dying like that, being injured over a party,” said Ivy Gaines, who lives nearby.
As detectives worked the scene, worried family members arrived looking for answers. One woman, who declined to speak on camera, said she drove there after her 21-year-old grandson stopped answering her calls. She said he attends the kind of parties she had seen in videos circulating on social media, and she feared he could be one of the victims.
The shooting is drawing renewed attention to short-term rentals in the area. Surveillance video captured a separate incident at another short-term rental just blocks away, where neighbors described a party that turned into a fight before gunshots rang out.
Thomas said events like these shift how residents feel about short-term rentals in the neighborhood — at least temporarily.
“For a moment, until they feel like they can’t do anything about it,” he said.
As detectives continue searching for suspects, Dallas city leaders are once again discussing how to regulate short-term rentals. During a recent finance meeting, council members talked about reviving an ordinance tied up in an ongoing legal dispute.
“We really should put this ordinance back up. It’s like a hot potato, and nobody really wants to touch it,” one city leader said during the meeting.