DALLAS — Dallas police and city leaders are urging people to be responsible this weekend and not set off fireworks or fire weapons inside the city.
"This is the busiest weekend for this police department this summer and arguably the entire year,” said Chief Eddie Garcia, Dallas Police Department.
Often, police and residents say they can't tell if what they are hearing are fireworks or gunfire.
“It’s so random and so many people doing it,” said Paul Baccus, Oak Cliff resident.
Baccus says every 4th of July weekend he fears being hit by a bullet.
"Knowing bullets have to come down and that's the scary part,” said Baccus.
Councilwoman Carolyn King Arnold says her district, which includes the south central and southwest patrol divisions, gets the most calls in the city on the 4th.
"We have reports of seniors simply laying down on the floor, because they don't know where the bullets or firecrackers are going to go,” said Arnold.
Chief Garcia says his officers are already focused on fighting violent crime and road rage, now they will have pay officers overtime and bring in their crime response teams to deal with all the extra calls.
"It puts my officers at risk and puts our community at risk,” said Chief Garcia.
In downtown Dallas Dallas PD and businesses are working to make the area safe for visitors and tourists. Businesses are bringing in extra security and resources to help the homeless.
"Our priority is to ensure downtown Dallas is clean, safe, active and fun,” said Kourtney Garrett, Downtown Dallas Inc.
Garcia encourages people to call 911. He says Dallas PD has extra staff to answer calls this weekend but he says be patient, because if it’s not a top priority call, it may take them longer to respond.