The Dallas Police Department has reported its first officer-involved shooting of 2026, according to a release on the DPD Beat. The incident occurred on the 1200 block of Presidio Avenue on the evening last Saturday. Responding to a 9-1-1 call about a disturbance and an active shooter, officers encountered a male subject, later identified as Oscar Saldana, 31, walking on the street armed with two firearms.
Despite multiple verbal commands given by the police for Saldana to drop the weapons, they report that the instructions were not heeded. Walking down the street uninterrupted, the police issued their commands repeatedly before discharging their service weapons and striking Saldana. Following the shooting, officers provided emergency medical aid to Saldana until he was transported to a nearby hospital by Dallas Fire-Rescue for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
No officers sustained injuries during the confrontation. The preliminary information suggests that before the police arrived, a disturbance had taken place in the backyard of a residence listed for rent, during which the suspect discharged a firearm, as detailed in the initial DPD Beat report. Multiple firearms were subsequently recovered from the scene as the incident was under investigation by the department's Special Investigations Unit. Saldana, upon his release from the hospital, is expected to face charges of aggravated assault with a firearm, with the potential for additional charges pending.
The Dallas Police Department has moved to release relevant portions of body-worn camera and surveillance video evidence, aiming to maintain the transparency and community trust vested in it. The footage can be viewed publicly, providing insight into the series of events leading to the shooting. Meanwhile, the Dallas County District Attorney's Office will conduct an independent investigation into the shooting, which is standard protocol for all officer-involved shootings. Furthermore, the Office of Community Police Oversight has been briefed on the incident, ensuring an added layer of scrutiny.
The incident is documented under case number 008318-2026 as the investigations proceed by the involved units.
