Homeowners in Midway Hollow in North Dallas said they're beyond upset after gunshots rang out in the middle of their quiet neighborhood over the weekend. They say it was the aftermath of an out-of-control party at a house they believe someone rented out.
Now neighbors are coming together to tell Dallas City Council on Wednesday they disapprove of short-term rentals.
"I thought I was in a war zone. I moved to this community, this neighborhood to be in a calm safe neighborhood to raise my kids, I did not come here to be two doors down from a hotel where anything goes," said Sonya Hebert who lives on the same street.
She said the party started after 7 p.m. on Saturday. Hebert began to record videos of people in the 3900 block of Valley Ridge Rd. before the shooting.
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"It was kind of a shock to everyone in the neighborhood, a bunch of people ready to go to the club in this residential neighborhood, we’re not the club," said Hebert who describes partygoers in bikinis and short shorts.
Hebert said many of the people there were teenagers, and when she asked them where they were from she got responses from all over the metroplex.
"There were cars everywhere, cars blocking the streets, cars blocking our driveways so I couldn’t park, kids dancing on rooftops, kids twerking everywhere it was just chaos," said Jatsive Hernandez who lives across the street.
Other neighbors said they called the police as the party spilled onto their front lawns and driveways.
"I never thought I would be feeling as unsafe in my home as I do in this type of neighborhood, especially with multi-million dollar homes," said Thomas Hitchcock who lives next door in the transitional neighborhood that now has many high-priced homes.
Neighbors said no one responded.
The only way police are going to come because they’re so understaffed, is if you actually have someone shooting at you.
Sonya Hebert, Neighbor
Just after 1 a.m. on Sunday Dallas Police said officers responded to a shooting call. Investigators said at this time it's unknown who fired the weapon and said no injuries were reported.
The continuous gunfire that erupted in the street was captured on a neighbor's doorbell camera.
“I happened to look up and saw two girls crouched next to my mom’s car and they lifted their hands and they said, 'No, no’ and started backing away and I was like something is going to happen," explained Hernandez. "I started running out of the living room and I passed the window that was shot through maybe 2 seconds before the bullet went through the window. My mom yelled at me to get down and I got down and called 911 from the floor."
Three bullets entered through the windows of her home where her parents and brother also live.
“I think I’m still in shock honestly, I feel a lot of anger and frustration I want action taken, said Hernandez. "It was definitely scary, I don’t think I’ve processed how close I was to possibly having worse consequences."
"Scary, sad, frustrating," said Herandez's mother in tears. She said they've lived there for 30 years and have never experienced such a situation.
"I hit the floor and my dog was barking, I pulled him down with me," described Hitchcock who went to his tornado shelter to call the police.
"I am so angry because my kids could have been hurt, other kids on this block could have been hurt, I don’t know how anyone on this block wasn’t hurt," said Hebert who saw the gunfire erupt.
The house in question
Neighbors have called the one-story home that sits in-between two newly constructed houses a short-term rental. They say they see different people go in-and-out of the home and have dealt with past parties.
NBC DFW reached out to Airbnb to see if the home was listed as a rental and waiting to hear back. A past link for what is believed to be for the house no longer works.
According to property tax information on the Dallas Central Appraisal District website, the home is listed under two different names, but Mark Bloom with NetWorth Realty said his family owns the house.
He wrote in a statement he was 'horrified' to hear what happened and said the home was leased long-term and not as a short-term rental:
"As parents of two young girls, we are absolutely horrified that this happened. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the neighbors and their families. It is terrifying that these kinds of things are happening in our neighborhoods. Our family owns this property as a rental. We only rent to long-term tenants and have never allowed short-term rentals. We have never experienced anything like this. This tenant will be removed immediately and we will do everything we can to fix this situation and move forward." - Mark Bloom
Push for action
Neighbors said they are convinced someone was listing the home as a short-term rental based on what they've seen. On Sunday about 30 neighbors showed up to an impromptu meeting to see what action they could take.
"Our big issue has been that it’s a short-term, Airbnb rental and I know that it’s a great business opportunity for a lot of families but I think there need to be regulations when it’s in a neighborhood that is predominately families because situations like this can happen," said Hernandez.
The hot topic debate of short-term rentals has been talked about for years in city hall and on Wednesday it's on the City of Dallas' agenda.
Homeowners in Midway Hollow said they plan to be there given what happened over the weekend.
"When you allow a short-term rental to be in your neighborhood you get situations like this, where you have 200 people partying in your street and you're held captive in your home," said Hebert. "We plan to take action, go to city hall and let them know this is not okay. We’re not okay with not being safe, we’re not okay with our kids being scared.
City Council Member response
Dallas City Council Member for District 6, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Omar Narvaez, said he received multiple calls over the weekend about what happened in his district.
This issue that happened is horrific for any neighborhood.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Omar Narvaez
He said he sympathizes with the neighbors and is not in support of short-term rentals.
The councilmember said Dallas Police and code enforcement are looking into what happened over the weekend but said it sheds light on a bigger problem.
"Examples of Midway Hollow are why I am with the residents that say we want homes and not hotels in single-family residential neighborhoods," said Narvaez.
The city council will take up the matter on Wednesday, with many people expected to share why they are either for or against short-term rentals. There will also be a presentation by different city departments on what they've gathered about STR in the city. A vote could happen later this month.
