Police were seeking the public’s help Friday morning finding a suspect at the center of an officer-involved shooting in northeast Dallas — the third such shooting in the city in less than 24 hours.
The suspect, whom police said stabbed a woman before fleeing the scene, was identified by police as 37-year-old Isidoro Melo-Munoz. He was described as a Hispanic man who is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 140 pounds.
In a photo shared by the department, Melo-Munoz appears to be wearing a black long-sleeve shirt, dark jeans and white Nike sneakers. Anyone who sees him is asked to call 911.
In a midmorning news conference, Assistant Chief of Police Terrence Rhodes said officers were called about 7 a.m. to the 8500 block of Park Lane, where they found Melo-Munoz on top of the woman, holding her at knife point.
Police ordered Melo-Munoz to drop the knife, and when he refused, Rhodes said officers shot at him. Melo-Munez then fled the scene; it was unclear if he was injured.
As of 11 a.m., Melo-Munez had not been found.
Drones and a helicopter roared above as police searched near the Sunchase Park apartment complex, where investigators tied yellow caution tape from a patrol car to the fences surrounding the complex’s parking lot. Officers were also scouring the area in their patrol cars and on foot, at least one accompanied by a K-9.
Police officials said the public is not in danger and should not be alarmed, calling the stabbing an isolated incident.
What unfolded on Park Lane marked the third officer-involved shooting in two days — all unrelated, all in northern Dallas.
On Thursday, Dallas police officers first responded to gunfire in Melshire Estates, where police said an armed robbery suspect ended a nearly 20-mile pursuit. Department officials said later at a news conference that an officer fired at the suspect as he got out of a stolen vehicle.
No one was injured, and the suspect was taken into custody.
Ninety minutes later, another shooting occurred in the parking lot of a nearby Sam’s Club. Dallas Independent School District officer Justin Jones, 39, was taken to Parkland Hospital after he was shot in the torso by a suspect police have yet to identify.
As of Friday morning, police officials said Jones was stable.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Staff Writer Sally Avila Edwards contributed to this report.