Armed man wanted after killing 21-year-old woman, injuring 7 others at northwest Dallas nightclub

Updated at 6:43 pm on March 21: Revised to include additional comments from Dallas City Council Member Omar Narvaez.

One person was killed and seven others were injured when a sniper opened fire early Saturday inside a crowded nightclub in northwest Dallas, police said.

Police were called about 1:30 am to Pryme Bar at 10333 Technology Boulevard West, south of Northwest Highway and west of Interstate 35E, and found eight people shot – five women and three men, aged 18 to 46, police said.

The police determined that there was an argument between two people inside and that, after a witness tried to intervene, someone drew a gun and started shooting.

The sniper, described as a black man in his 20s with dreadlocks and a blue shirt with a hat and jacket, remained at large, police said.

All eight victims were taken to hospitals. Daisy Navarrete, 21, from Plano died, and the conditions of others ranged from good to critical, police said.

Navarrete had just turned 21 on Monday and was full of life, said her mother, Judith Gonzalez, also from Plano. She was born and raised in Plano and worked at FedEx, but hoped one day to go to nursing school.

“She was a beautiful and happy girl,” said Gonzalez. “She had a lot to live for. But not anymore, because now she’s gone.

“This has been very, very difficult,” added Gonzalez. “We need the police to catch the person who did this. It can’t be like this. “

Gonzalez said Navarrete had gone to the club “just for fun”. She said it was the club’s responsibility to ensure that the environment was safe and expressed anger at both the police and the Pryme Bar for not taking steps to prevent violence.

“How did a person get in there with a gun?” Gonzalez said. “The police need to examine all of these details. If they were more careful, we wouldn’t have to go through this nightmare. “

‘I don’t want to die alone’

Piles of rags and bloodstained clothes, broken glass and bottles of alcohol were still strewn across the two-story club on Saturday morning. A light pink heel that officials said belonged to one of the victims was sitting near the entrance next to a pile of stained clothing.

It was a busy Friday night with hundreds of revelers, many of them young women, team members said.

“There was a lot of confusion,” said employee Jeromy Skinner, who spent the night at the club and returned on Saturday to help clean up.

Skinner said he was close to the back of the club when the sniper came in through a side door and fought with another man near the front. The two fought close to the entrance, so nine to 12 shots were fired, Skinner said. The music was cut off and people started frantically pushing themselves in a rush to get out the back doors.

“At the very least, it is strange that I am alive, because I saw a lady being shot,” Skinner said, adding that it was at that moment that he thought: “This is real.”

The police arrived in a few minutes, Skinner said. He said that an injured woman stumbled towards the bathroom before telling him, “Please help me, I don’t want to die alone.”

“It will kill me for the rest of my life,” said Skinner. “I was like, ‘Damn’.”

Skinner said officials were devastated by the shooting and that he was unable to sleep after arriving home around 5:30 am.

Greg Adams, 41, was one of two people who cleaned outside the bar on Saturday morning. He said he was outside the building when the shooting happened and saw hundreds of people stacking the back entrance. People also fled nearby businesses, he said.

Adams said he saw a policeman pick up a woman who had been shot near her leg and run towards an ambulance.

“It was a pandemonium,” said Adams, adding that he had noticed a pool of blood dripping from a side door as the police entered the scene.

A history of violence

Skinner said the shooting was not the first violent incident at Bar Pryme, although he considered it the worst he has seen recently.

Dallas City Council member Omar Narvaez, whose district includes Pryme Bar, said in a message statement on Sunday that the Texas Alcoholic Beverages Commission suspended the club’s liquor license for a week to facilitate the Department’s investigation. Dallas Police Department on Saturday’s violence.

“I support a week-long suspension and would definitely support a longer one if the DPD needs more time and requests more time,” said Narvaez, adding that the city will monitor the bar to ensure compliance with the suspension.

“I ask everyone to take several breaths and think before resorting to violence during any kind of disagreement,” said Narvaez.

Saturday’s bloodshed followed the fatal shooting of a man on Monday morning in the parking lot of XTC Cabaret, a nightclub on I-35E near Regal Row and Harry Hines Boulevard and not far from Bar Pryme.

In this case, Gregory Chandler was shot several times and declared dead on the spot. David McMillian, 43, was arrested on charges of murder and remained in Dallas County jail instead of $ 1 million bail.

The police ask anyone with information about the shooting at Pryme Bar to contact detective Boz Rojas at 214-681-1786 or [email protected] and see case # 047116-2021.

Crime Stoppers offered a reward of up to $ 5,000 for information leading to arrest and indictment. Tips, which can be offered anonymously, can be provided at 214-373-TIPS.