As the night began to rumble to life around him, a man with an air of authority paced a dimly lit road near the heart of Dallas. His gaze was laser-focused.

Thousands were descending on the city’s most popular entertainment districts in hopes of a fun night ahead. But here, on a quiet stretch of a street between Uptown and Deep Ellum, a Dallas deputy police chief was thinking back.

It was 10:50 on a cool Friday night downtown, and Israel Herrera was looking for an ice cream cone.

“It’s a puzzle,” he said, his face concentrated. “It really is.”

About 30 minutes earlier, gunshots were fired from a white Nissan Sentra at the intersection of Routh and San Jacinto streets. The bullets shattered the car’s windshield, blasting glass onto the street.

Herrera was a few feet away in an unmarked police vehicle. He was first to respond, trailing the car as he called for cover before cornering it near a Wells Fargo on McKinney Avenue for a felony stop.

The moment was an example of the violence that can pop up at a moment’s notice. But the deputy chief said it’s always dependent on the night in the city’s entertainment districts.

Now, he was back at the scene of the shooting to jog his memory and look for evidence.

The driver of the Nissan said the shooting started when someone from his car threw an ice cream cone out the window, angering a person in the next lane. That person opened fire and took off, the driver claimed, alleging that the gunfire from his vehicle was in self-defense.

“Over a stupid ice cream cone,” Herrera said later, shaking his head.

“What bothers me is the disregard for people and humanity when you can just take a gun out and start firing it.”

Violence in entertainment districts

Six nights earlier, two teenagers had been killed and four females were injured after gunfire broke out in Deep Ellum. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 30.

The Sept. 19 shooting raised questions about safety in that area and other Dallas entertainment districts known for their vibrant nightlife, which draws people from all over.

Violence of that magnitude doesn’t happen often, the deputy chief told The Dallas Morning News during a ride-along Friday night. But other problems remain persistent.

Herrera oversees the Central Patrol Division, which covers areas including Fair Park, Deep Ellum, downtown, Uptown and Lower Greenville. Random gunfire happens from time to time, he said, and other recurring problems include street racing, drunken driving, loitering and open containers.

Dallas police Chief Eddie García vowed no tolerance a day after the Deep Ellum shooting, and announced boosted patrols and barricaded streets. He said the department will figure out where the police presence needs to be moving forward.

“There’s not an entertainment district in any major city in America that isn’t susceptible to some violence,” García said. “And unfortunately it occurs. But when it does occur, because of the fact that these areas are so populous, police departments need to respond in kind.”

Aggravated assaults in the Deep Ellum area are up slightly this year over last, with about 77 reported between May through September compared with about 70 during that period of 2020.

In the larger Central Division, crimes against persons are about 10.9% higher than they were last year, according to department statistics updated Sunday. There were 1,295 simple assaults and 556 aggravated assaults in the division this year, an increase of 231 assaults overall from the same period in 2020. García has noted the uptick isn’t huge considering that most businesses were closed last year because of the pandemic.

Herrera said police have been “lucky and good” about responding to incidents as soon as they occur. He noted that the recent Deep Ellum shooting happened as officers stood watching only a few feet away.

“I was mortified because I know the amount of officers I have in the area,” said Herrera, who’s been with the department for about 25 years. “I immediately thought, ‘What are we going to do? What more can I do?’

“My officers were yards away … and [the shooters] didn’t care.”

A Friday in Deep Ellum

Walking through Deep Ellum on Friday night, there were no signs of the tragedy that happened six nights earlier.

A slight breeze blew through the area as groups of young adults dressed for the nightlife scene waited in short lines outside the many bars lining the roads.

Remixes of popular hit songs reverberated down Elm, Main and Commerce streets, where a few street performers had also camped out to play live music. Herrera waved to bargoers, security at the businesses and police around the perimeter as he walked through the entertainment district.

“How y’all doing?” he called out to patrons, most of whom returned the greeting.

It was a calmer Friday night than usual, Herrera and other police on patrol said. Still, thousands of people had come to Deep Ellum.

The police presence was visible. Police blocked off the main roads leading into the area, using flexible blockades that Herrera said can be adjusted throughout the night. Police on horseback or officers on foot could be spotted on every block.

Cars blasting music circled the area, unable to enter because of the blockades.

On this Friday night, there were few disturbances in the Central Division — and nothing that reached the magnitude of the shooting the Sunday before.

In addition to the felony stop from earlier in the night, there were calls about car crashes and robbery suspects running from police on foot. At one point, a group of about 50 people on motorbikes sped through intersections, popping wheelies.

Herrera sped up to intercept them, but he said there was little police could do about the problem. “I pray every weekend they don’t hurt someone,” he said.

Throughout the night, he told officers to watch for groups loitering in parking lots. “These are the types of incidents that lead to bigger problems later,” he called in to other officers.

Herrera said there’s no rhyme or reason to when the area gets busy. Every night is different, and each one can bring a different challenge.

He said building trust with the community and partnering with businesses across the district are vital to keeping the area safe.

He pointed out a parking lot behind a bar that he said used to be dark and would attract problems. Now, the lot was well lit — and empty.

“We gotta take away that us-vs.-them mentality,” he said. “It’s ‘we have to work together to keep this place safe.’”

‘We want people to come to Dallas’

As Herrera drove back to the Central Division headquarters on Hall Street about 2 a.m., he recalled the felony stop earlier in the night, which turned out to be one of the biggest incidents in the area late Friday.

Herrera had exited his unmarked car, drawing his firearm as he approached the white Nissan after it came to a stop. Behind him, at least four other officers walked up with their guns drawn.

Inside Herrera’s vehicle, a police scanner stirred with officers responding to a car crash a few blocks away. An on-foot police chase was happening a few miles past it. Sirens could be heard in the background.

“Dallas police, let me see your hands!” Herrera yelled, pointing his gun at the car as he moved closer. “Nobody move! Nobody move!”

As he yelled out commands, he thought of his wife, two college-age daughters and one teenage son. He usually does when he feels he’s approaching potential danger, he said.

“I’ve got to come home to them,” he said. “That’s the most important thing. So don’t take any risks, don’t take any chances.”

A light shone on the Nissan, exposing a man in a black T-shirt and red shorts in the driver’s seat. The man raised his hands above the car’s steering wheel as officers approached.

Officers yelled at the man to get outside of the car and lay on the ground. He did.

A few minutes later, officers had recovered two guns from the car and detained the driver. A passenger had been shot in the foot in the earlier gunfire, and was put on a stretcher and taken to a hospital.

The story of what happened during the shooting wasn’t clear, and Herrera never found an ice cream cone during his search for evidence back at the scene. But, Herrera said, “we took two guns off the street.”

Herrera said he tries to lead by example in the Central Division. When violence happens in Deep Ellum or the other entertainment venues, there’s usually “no crescendo” — it happens all at once, which is why police try to remain visible, he said.

“We have to hold people accountable,” he said shortly before pulling back in the station. “We want people to come to Dallas and leave and say, ‘I had a great time, and I felt safe the entire time.’”