DALLAS — Janet Valleza said her heart breaks every time she hears of another homicide. Her 16-year-old, Sara Alvarez, was killed last August at a Dallas apartment complex.
The family was visiting relatives and outside when the men, who they didn’t know, started shooting.
Valleza said she frantically looked for her daughter.
“It’s difficult to talk about," she explained.
"I found my daughter. She was facedown, and she was hit by a bullet in back," she recalled. "I turned her over and held her in my arms. We looked at each other, but she was gone."
Valleza goes to her daughter's gravesite every day to play music for her and talk to her.
"I come see her every day, because I feel better being here with her,” Valleza explained.
Alvarez is among the victims of increasing violence.
Last year in Dallas at this time, there were 76 murders. Now, there are 84. FBI statistics show murders are up in almost every major U.S. city.
They agency said anxiety, the pandemic, more guns in circulation, unemployment and unrest are among the reasons they are seeing an increase in violence.
Dr. Alex Piquero heads the Criminology Department at the University of Miami.
"So, imagine if you have a bunch of ingredients, and you put it in a microwave, and you hit cook for 20 minutes instead of one, it’s going to explode,” Piquero described.
Dallas Police have implemented a new violent crime plan that is focused on community-based programs and targeting crime hot spots in hopes of driving violence down.
DPD said they are seeing some results when it comes to robberies, but in all other violent crime categories - including aggravated assaults - the numbers are up.
Piquero said he is worried about the summer. That's because, traditionally, crime increases during the summer.
"Homicide has a seasonality component to it. Seasonality to when things go up and down at particular times of the year," he explained. "I worry about summer. You know the trend. The trend line is not going down in terms of shootings and homicides."
As for Sarah Alvarez's family, they are hoping the suspect in their daughter’s death, 29-year-old Jose Mancha-Solis, is caught.
Valleza said that is when she will find some peace.