{"id":81696,"date":"2025-12-09T13:35:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T13:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/81696\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T13:35:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T13:35:07","slug":"roseland-part-2-at-least-43-shootings-20-gunshot-injuries-and-seven-deaths-despite-efforts-to-make-complex-safer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/81696\/","title":{"rendered":"Roseland Part 2: At least 43 shootings, 20 gunshot injuries and seven deaths despite efforts to make complex safer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Roseland public housing complex sits on the eastern portion of what used to be called Freedmantown<\/a> or North Dallas. Freedmantown was one of several communities in the city where Black people were allowed to live after emancipation.<\/p>\n

The area flourished until Central Expressway cut it in half in the 1940s. By 1942, the Dallas Housing Authority<\/a> had purchased more than 140 tracts of land in the area and erected Roseland Homes.<\/p>\n

Segregation was still legal, and the more than 600 units at Roseland were some of the few options Black residents had for housing near downtown.<\/p>\n

By the early 2000s, the housing authority had torn down the old units and began erecting new buildings, including housing for seniors.<\/p>\n

Today, there are 390 units on the site that still bear the Roseland name. In addition to the adjacent Roseland Townhomes<\/a> and Roseland Estates<\/a>, there is Roseland Gardens<\/a>, which serves seniors. Almost all residents are Black, according to recent state data. Most households earn less than 30% of the area\u2019s median income. A fourth property on the site, Renaissance Oaks<\/a>, serves seniors and people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

The Townhomes and Estates have developed a reputation for attracting criminal activity.<\/p>\n

A plan to combat crime<\/a> at DHA properties \u2014 an agreement between the city and DHA that was signed in January 2018 \u2014 should have been welcome news to Roseland residents.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the agreement was put in place, city and DHA officials prepared for their first monthly meeting. The first discussion item: which DHA properties to put in specific programs, called cooperative abatement programs, to reduce crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Police ranked DHA\u2019s properties by the number of offenses the year before, records show. The top three were Estelle Village in southeast Oak Cliff (which DHA later sold), and two communities near DHA\u2019s West Dallas headquarters: Villa Creek Apartments and The Hamptons at Lakewest.<\/p>\n

DPD listed Roseland Townhomes and Roseland Estates separately; combined they would have landed at the top of the list.<\/p>\n

A second monthly meeting was scheduled in February, emails show, and the first quarterly report would have been due in April.<\/p>\n

But the agreement, The News found, had already broken down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should have made sure\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the Texas Public Information Act, The News requested copies of the required meeting minutes, quarterly reports and annual reports. We also requested records that reflected DHA properties being placed into cooperative abatement programs, and all crime reduction plans that were to be tailored to DHA\u2019s properties.<\/p>\n

Neither the city nor DHA could provide any such plans.<\/p>\n

Troy Broussard, DHA\u2019s chief executive officer, acknowledged no minutes or \u201cformal notes\u201d had been taken, and said DHA had no official record of what was discussed in the meetings. Broussard also acknowledged there were no quarterly or annual reports, and that DHA hadn\u2019t participated in any briefings to the City Council.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should have made sure that those elements were addressed,\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

Broussard said he wasn\u2019t sure what the purpose of the reports were and he couldn\u2019t remember anyone bringing up the agreement\u2019s requirement to produce them.<\/p>\n

A top lawyer at DHA said the documentation spelled out in the agreement was more of a wish list.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s aspirational,\u201d Greg Mays said in a June interview. \u201cIt’s like what attorneys hope would happen, and whether or not it happened, or who would keep track of it, I think that we didn’t really get into the specifics of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

DHA had made efforts to that end. The housing authority has private security guards at its apartment complexes, and a network of security cameras Dallas police<\/a> can monitor in real time. DHA invested in enhanced lighting systems. At Roseland, the agency blocked off two vehicle entrances on one side of the property and installed fencing between buildings.<\/p>\n

The housing authority hosts crime watch meetings at Roseland, has provided facilities for the Police Athletic League<\/a>, and hosts a variety of social programs.<\/p>\n

In written statements to The News, the agency characterized the agreement as \u201ca set of proposed \u2018guidelines\u2019, not policy, regulations, statute, or contractual obligation\u201d and said any assumption that \u201cany party decided \u2018not to follow\u2019 guidelines is misleading and a misrepresentation of the spirit of the collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether the agreement was a guideline or a legal mandate, one thing is clear: Violence at Roseland continued.<\/p>\n

In February 2019 \u2014 just over a year into the agreement \u2014 the city and DHA began working to provide Dallas police access to DHA\u2019s security cameras. The city also asked DHA to share an \u201coverview\/update of the specific crime reduction strategies\u201d at the three DHA communities identified a year earlier, as well as at Roseland. And the city wanted DHA to recommend additional properties where crime reduction strategies were needed.<\/p>\n

When The News requested the crime reduction strategies in February, neither DHA nor the city said they had any responsive documents. Then in late October, in response to a separate request for emails among various officials, one of the emails provided by the city showed that a Dropbox shared with DHA contained documents dated March 2019 titled \u201ccrime reduction strategies\u201d at various DHA properties.<\/p>\n

One of them was Roseland.<\/p>\n

The News asked the city to retrieve them. The city said it couldn\u2019t because the employee who used to have access to the Dropbox no longer worked for the city.<\/p>\n

The News also asked DHA to search directly in the Dropbox. In a statement to The News, a DHA spokeswoman said the agency did not have access to the files and that the date on the documents fell outside of DHA\u2019s document retention policy.<\/p>\n

In the summer of 2019, shootings at Roseland took the lives of three children \u2014 including one that would command the attention of the city and its mayor.<\/p>\n

Nine-year-old Brandoniya Bennett died after a gunman shot into her unit and struck her. Police say the target was someone else. The Aug. 14 shooting drew pleas for peace and punctuated a summer shaped by rising crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mayor Eric Johnson, just shy of two months into his first term, called her death a \u201cgut punch.\u201d At her funeral<\/a> in West Dallas, he sat in the church\u2019s choir seats before he was called to the pulpit to speak.<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson spoke at the funeral for 9-year-old Brandoniya Bennett at Dallas\u2019 New Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church on Aug. 23, 2019. Bennett was struck and killed by gunfire that pierced her apartment from outside. \u201cI\u2019m promising all of you, we\u2019re going to come together as a city and solve this problem,\u201d Johnson said of the violence that was surging in Dallas that summer.<\/p>\n

2019 File Photo | Staff<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can not \u2014 I can not \u2014 allow for her death to have been in vain,\u201d Johnson said. Addressing the mourners packing New Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, he said: \u201cI\u2019m promising all of you, we\u2019re going to come together as a city and solve this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandoniya\u2019s death hit close for Roseland resident Shanise Gilbertoe and her family. Her oldest son, Joshua, had been schoolmates with Brandoniya. The kids were sent home from school with letters about counseling services.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter it happened,\u201d her middle child, Caleb, who is now 15, explained in an interview, \u201cI just thought anything could happen at any moment. I just kept on thinking, like, what if I’m just sitting down there and out of nowhere a bullet come and hit my head? It’s really scary to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dayday<\/p>\n

Dayday Elder (center) and family members gather to honor the life of 9-year-old Brandoniya Bennett during a vigil at the Roseland Townhomes on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. Bennett was killed when someone fired into an apartment Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019 in Old East Dallas, police say.<\/p>\n

2019 File Photo | Staff.<\/p>\n

By now, Shanise had asked for a transfer to another DHA property so her kids could escape the violence at Roseland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw other people get out of there,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I wasn’t able.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the family waited, city officials tried to reassure the public.<\/p>\n

\"Shanise<\/p>\n

Shanise Gilbertoe, 37, is shown at her Arlington home on Oct. 3, 2025. Their neatly tended, quiet, brick house subdivision is an oasis after the years of violence that threatened the lives of Gilbertoe, her three children and their neighbors.<\/p>\n

Smiley N. Pool | Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

At a City Council meeting just over a week after Brandoniya\u2019s death, Executive Assistant Police Chief David Pughes told council members the department had assigned a gang unit officer and others to Roseland and noted DHA had hired off-duty police, which combined with private security, gave the complex round-the-clock coverage, seven days a week.<\/p>\n

Asked how long the increased presence lasted, police did not answer and DHA did not specify.<\/p>\n

Jon Fortune, then the assistant city manager for public safety, sought to provide assurances at the meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur level of cooperation and collaboration with DHA is as probably as good as it\u2019s ever been,\u201d Fortune said, \u201calthough we recognize there\u2019s still some properties that we\u2019re going to have to address.\u201d<\/p>\n

Understanding crime at Roseland<\/p>\n

One way the city could have addressed the situation was to pursue a case to designate Roseland a habitual criminal property<\/a>. The threshold \u2014 five abatable crimes in a year \u2014 had been exceeded, according to two emails sent soon after Brandoniya\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

One email from a police sergeant noted 43 abatable offenses in the previous year.<\/p>\n

Those emails were shared with city attorneys, but no case materialized. City officials said recently they couldn\u2019t say why, because relevant officials no longer work for Dallas.<\/p>\n

Instead of pursuing a case, Fortune and a city attorney met with DHA officials.<\/p>\n

In a memo, Fortune said the purpose of the meeting was \u201cto discuss a crime reduction strategy\u201d at Roseland, and, \u201cNext steps include additional meetings and more police presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortune, who now works<\/a> for the city of Austin, did not reply to requests for an interview.<\/p>\n

The ensuing years could be characterized as business as usual. At Roseland, business as usual meant more crime, more shootings and more deaths.<\/p>\n

The News analyzed crime data available on a public city website. We looked at incidents reported at Roseland Townhomes and Roseland Estates. Then we determined whether those incidents represented the types of abatable crimes police consider when weighing whether to designate a property a habitual criminal property.<\/p>\n

The analysis, which went through June 2025, found that at any time since at least November 2018, there had been five or more such offenses at Roseland in the preceding 12-month period.<\/p>\n

The city knew how bad crime continued to be at Roseland.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I mentioned during our meeting today, Roseland Townhomes has the most abatable criminal offenses in the central division,\u201d a city attorney, Zinzi Bonilla, wrote in a January 2022 email to DHA\u2019s Broussard, referring to the DPD\u2019s Central Patrol Division. \u201cWe recognize it takes collaboration between all enforcement agencies to effectively impact ongoing crime occurring at the property and want to discuss how we can accomplish this together with DHA and DPD.\u201d<\/p>\n

Habitual criminal properties<\/p>\n

In January, 2022, a document provided by DPD noted it had opened a case at Roseland Townhomes to weigh whether it should be designated a habitual criminal property.<\/p>\n

The city had proof its approach worked.<\/p>\n

In early March 2022, police told the City Council\u2019s Public Safety Committee 21 private apartment communities had been designated habitual criminal properties since the program began. All but six, police said, had fallen off the list after prevention measures were taken and crime went down.<\/p>\n

In a recent statement to The News, city spokesperson Nick Starling said the city has the option to open such cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city retains the right to use the HCP Ordinance and other enforcement tools, as needed, if DHA does not cooperate with city departments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, he said, \u201cthe decision to designate a property, such as Roseland Townhomes, a habitual criminal property rests with the Dallas Police Department.\u201d<\/p>\n

A habitual criminal property case was not pursued at Roseland.<\/p>\n

The police document that showed a case had been opened to weigh action at Roseland also gave a reason for closing it. Entered under a heading \u201cJustification for Closing\u201d was \u201cAttorney\u2019s office refused to litigate DHA Property.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a 2023 interview, a city attorney, Jill Haning, said it wasn\u2019t her office\u2019s position that they refused to litigate properties owned by DHA. City officials look not only at the number of crimes, she said, but also at whether the property owner is taking reasonable steps to prevent crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difference between DHA and other properties,\u201d Haning said, \u201cis that they have a very proactive relationship with the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kristin Lowman, then a police spokesperson, told The News in late 2023 that it wasn\u2019t clear who wrote that the city attorney\u2019s office refused to litigate a DHA property. She said the case was closed because \u201cit was determined police enforcement was not needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid concerns, crime continues<\/p>\n

In April 2022, instead of pursuing a case, an abatement detective had developed a different plan for Roseland that would go into effect that same month and presented it to his superiors.<\/p>\n

A PowerPoint outlining that plan noted several shortcomings at Roseland. Private security, the detective wrote, \u201cis rarely on the property.\u201d He also noted there were few gates.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear what happened to the plan outlined in the PowerPoint.<\/p>\n

While the city considered how to proceed at Roseland, there was another homicide.<\/p>\n

On May 15, Braylon Smith, 25, was killed<\/a> when someone shot into his apartment from the outside.<\/p>\n

Police grew concerned about Roseland again in early October, according to emails among Dallas officers.<\/p>\n

Detective Nicholas Stolarzyk noted Roseland had a total of 27 abatable offenses in the previous 12 months, and that the property ranked eighth in those types of crimes based on citywide raw data.<\/p>\n

Stolarzyk had a particular concern: The property hosted a Head Start<\/a> center and a Boys & Girls<\/a> club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese programs provide services to infants, toddlers and pregnant women in Dallas,\u201d Stolarzyk wrote. \u201cAbatable offenses, to include two shooting deaths, occurred next to these programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other offenses included nine aggravated assaults with deadly weapons, seven instances of discharging a firearm or deadly conduct, one robbery and a case of arson of a motor vehicle, he wrote.<\/p>\n

Stolarzyk noted four vehicle entrances to the property had no gates or access control, pedestrian entrances allowed free access to foot traffic, and the east side of the complex had no fencing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe property has security cameras posted throughout, but security cameras do not necessarily deter criminal behavior,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIn this case serious crimes still occur despite the cameras.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A photo of extra security cameras installed at the Roseland Townhomes community on Dec. 14, 2019 in Dallas.<\/p>\n

2019 File Photo | Juan Figueroa<\/p>\n

Stolarzyk recommended controlling access for both vehicles and pedestrians, parking registration, and enforcing curfew, among other suggestions.<\/p>\n

A week later, Fortune, the assistant city manager, wrote an email to DHA CEO Broussard.<\/p>\n

\u201cTroy, my team has some concerns about the level of criminal activity that continues to occur at Roseland,\u201d Fortune wrote. He referenced past discussion about DHA\u2019s plan for improvements at Roseland and asked for an update. \u201cWould you be willing to meet with us ahead of our next scheduled meeting to discuss Roseland specifically?\u201d<\/p>\n

Twelve days later, a city attorney emailed DHA asking for its rent roll, copies of recent lease violations and evictions, towing policy, private security contract, and other information to help police evaluate and recommend crime prevention measures at Roseland.<\/p>\n

Two minutes later, Broussard replied:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not be in position to provide the requested information.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a recent written statement to The News, DHA said Broussard gave that answer because \u201cthe information requested by the attorney\u2019s office included requests for residents\u2019 personal information, which is protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon after Broussard declined the city\u2019s request, Fortune wrote to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will visit with [city attorney] Jill [Haning] to understand why, given all that DHA has already done and committed to do, this additional information is needed,\u201d Fortune wrote. Further, he said, he believed \u201cthe written plan that we discussed will help in the staff understanding of the DHA voluntary strategies currently being implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear what written plan Fortune was referring to. No plan was provided to The News as part of its public records requests, which sought any crime reduction plans.<\/p>\n

Early the next morning, Haning wrote to Broussard and Zappasodi, saying a separate city division \u2014 and not the police or the city attorney\u2019s office \u2014 would now take the lead in offering solutions.<\/p>\n

She then wrote to her assistant: \u201cWill you go ahead and close out our investigation matter?\u201d<\/p>\n

City officials, when asked by The News, did not explain that decision.<\/p>\n

Later on the same day Haning wrote those emails, police would be sent back to Roseland. Twice.<\/p>\n

Just after 4 p.m., police were called there after a woman pointed a gun at two others.<\/p>\n

Then, just after 9 p.m., police responded to a shooting. A 16-year-old boy had shot a 15-year-old boy in a parking lot.<\/p>\n

Over the next three years, some things would change at Roseland. A new security team would be brought on board. Another city strategy would be created. And people would begin to move out.<\/p>\n

Before any of that, there would be more shootings and more deaths. One of those shootings would forever change Shanise Gilbertoe and her children.<\/p>\n

Jacob Quinn Sanders contributed data reporting to this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Roseland public housing complex sits on the eastern portion of what used to be called Freedmantown or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[39618,39631,294,102,104,39615,103,401,4081,39617,13667,39616,3346,2051,3426,39619,6878,15005],"class_list":["post-81696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-abatable-crimes","tag-brandoniya-bennett","tag-crime","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-housing-authority","tag-dallas-news","tag-dallas-police","tag-dallas-police-department","tag-dha","tag-hud","tag-roseland-apartments","tag-shootings","tag-taxes","tag-u-s-department-of-housing-and-urban-development","tag-u-s-hud","tag-violence","tag-violent-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}