Dallas police said one innocent bystander is dead and three people are in critical condition after a two-vehicle shootout on a major highway Saturday afternoon.
Family members of Ana Moreno, 39, said she was driving her daughter, Amy, a senior in high school, to get her hair done and then pick up her prom dress that night
“She was like, ‘Oh, we finally get to see her get ready,’ and she didn’t even get to see it happen,” said Michelle Rodriguez, the youngest of Moreno’s three children. He said other family members were at their home waiting to see their sister get ready for prom when they received a group message from Amy saying their mother had been shot.
“All he heard were gunshots and he said my mom made a sign like she couldn’t breathe, and then she leaned on Amy’s shoulder and that’s when they crashed, and it was when Amy said she called an ambulance,” Michelle Rodriguez said through tears. .
Dallas police said around 4:05 pm they responded to the 2100 block of N. Masters Dr. and Bruton Rd. for a shot call. They said four people had been shot, including Moreno, who was an innocent bystander.
Police said three male victims remain in critical condition. Investigators said two vehicles were shooting at each other while driving eastbound on Bruton Rd. That’s when one of the bullets entered Moreno’s car, killing him.
“I put my shirt over the wound, lifted it up to see if I could get a response out of it, and I couldn’t,” said Jacob Faz, who was walking home with his wife. He stopped to help when he saw Moreno’s panicked daughter.
Rodriguez, who had her mother’s location on her phone, said her aunt and other family rushed to the scene not far from her home. Moreno had been taken to the hospital, where they would learn that her mother died.
“It hurts, it really hurts, because we all had such a great bond with my mom, and it hurts to lose her so soon,” Rodriguez said of losing her mother the day before Mother’s Day. “They took her away from us, it’s not fair, she had so much potential, she was so outgoing, she was hardworking, she had everything.”
On Sunday, the family held a balloon release at the site of the accident. People carried red and gold balloons, Moreno’s favorite colors.
“She loved the color red, anywhere you saw her, she would have her bright red lipstick on, her gold jewelry, she loved those colors,” Rodriguez said of her mother. “Anything you could want in a mother, she was.”
The family set up a gofundme account to help pay for funeral expenses.
There are currently no suspects in custody.
The investigation is ongoing and documented under case number 088413-2023.
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact Detective Frank Serra at 214-662-4552 or by email at frank.serra@dallaspolice.gov.
