A child is dead after a shooting erupted overnight on Wadsworth Drive near Loop 12 and I-45 in Dallas, with police saying the circumstances surrounding the gunfire remain under investigation. Officers responded to the shooting call at approximately 1 a.m. Sunday, and the child did not survive.
According to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Dallas police responded to a shooting call in the 4900 block of Wadsworth Drive and found an unresponsive juvenile of unknown age with an apparent gunshot wound. The child was transported to a local hospital, where they later died.
A separate account from cbsnews.com reported that Dallas police said the child who died was just three years old. NBC 5’s October 11, 2026, report also identified the child as a 3-year-old boy, though its account of officers’ initial discovery described him as a juvenile. The station reported that the shooting unfolded at 1 a.m. along Wadsworth Drive, near Loop 12 and I-45.
Mother Says Another Toddler Fired the Gun
Per the same account, the child's mother told officers that another toddler in the house was able to access the gun and fire it. Police were questioning the mother as investigators worked to piece together exactly what happened inside the home before the shooting.
Dallas police said the shooting's motives and circumstances remain under investigation, and no further details about how the weapon came to be in reach of the children have been released. The station's report did not indicate whether the mother or anyone else faced any legal consequences as a result of the shooting.
A Street With a Troubled Past
This is not the first deadly shooting Dallas police have investigated on Wadsworth Drive. In July 2018, officers responded to a shooting call in the 4900 block of the same street, where a 26-year-old man was found with a gunshot wound and later died at the scene, according to dpdbeat.com. Crime Stoppers offered up to $5,000 at the time for information leading to an arrest and indictment in that case.
The overnight shooting comes even as Dallas has reported broader declines in violent crime. dallasnews.com reported that the city ended 2025 with fewer homicides and a fifth straight annual drop in violent crime, with reports of violent crime down 12% overall compared with the year before.
No additional information about the investigation into the Wadsworth Drive shooting had been released as of Sunday night. Dallas police have not said whether the case will result in any charges, and the department continues to investigate the exact circumstances that led to the child's death.
