DALLAS — Two people have been arrested in the shooting at a concert and trail ride in southern Dallas last month that left one man dead and injured 16 others, police officials announced Thursday.
Astonial Calhoun, 25, and Devojiea Givens, 26, face charges of felony deadly conduct, according to a police news release.
Police said Calhoun and Givens both fired handguns after a fight broke out at the event at 5050 Cleveland Road, between Bonnie View and Lancaster Hutchins roads.
Investigators learned that Calhoun and Givens fired into the crowd, police said.
They were taken into custody Wednesday and booked into the Dallas County jail.
Their arrests are the first developments in the case in several weeks, though police this month have called for a crackdown on large permitless events, similar to the concert where the shooting happened.
The concert shooting happened just before 12:15 a.m. on April 3.
Upon arriving at the scene, police said they found a 26-year-old man, identified as Kealon Dejuane Gilmore, lying near a stage with a gunshot wound to his head. Police said Gilmore was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police also said that an additional 16 victims of the shooting -- including three juveniles -- were transported to an area hospital by either ambulance or private vehicle.
According to police, the concert had about 2,000 people in the field, yet it had no permit and no emergency plan. The event was billed as the Second Annual Epic Easter Bike Out & Field Party.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said someone fired a gun into the air, then a fight broke out and another person fired shots into the crowd.
Sources told WFAA the crowd was restless because the rapper who was headlining didn't show up and people were angry.
Internal police review
Along with the criminal investigation into the shooting, there is also an internal review into why a sergeant and six other Dallas police officers were working the event.
The event was held on the outskirts of town, and the promoter didn't have a permit; although they did have some security, including the six off-duty Dallas police officers and a sergeant.
Garcia said they should not have been given permission to work that event. Sources told WFAA those officers were only paid to be there until 11 p.m., so they left before the shooting started a couple of hours later.
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But, the question is why supervisors were not notified there might be a crowd control issue so they could have sent on-duty officers to assist.
Garcia said the department is looking into that, but added the real issue was that the concert was not permitted.
Property history
Dallas police said part of their investigation into the shooting involves looking into the owners of the property where the unpermitted event at its center was held.
In August 2021, Dallas police raided the property located at 5050 Cleveland Road as part of a raid in which officers confiscated 22 stolen vehicles and a machine that was being used to crush them. Detectives said they believe the scrap from these cars was being sold for cash.
Police did not make an arrest in the wake of that raid, but said they did have a suspect.
Police also noted that the property where the mass shooting took place is owned by St. John's Missionary Baptist in Dallas, a church pastored by Bertrain Bailey.
Sources say the church allowed for the use of the property for the party, which was held by promoters who did not have a permit to host an event on this scale.