Alleged Deep Ellum Halloween Shooter Charged Federally: David Yancy, 27, Surrendered Tuesday, and Operation Deep Cover Is 'Just Getting Started'
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas announced Thursday that one of the alleged Deep Ellum Halloween shooters — a 27-year-old who turned himself in on Tuesday — now faces a federal felon-in-possession charge carrying up to 15 years. Seven people were wounded in the 1 a.m. shooting on Main Street; all survived.
One of the alleged gunmen from the Deep Ellum Halloween shootings is now a federal defendant. United States Attorney Ryan Raybould announced at a press conference on Thursday that David Dashaun Yancy, 27, has been charged by criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, for allegedly opening fire into a crowded Deep Ellum street and wounding seven people. Yancy surrendered to the Dallas Police Department on November 4 and remains in custody. A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and Yancy is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
According to the court documents the U.S. Attorney's office summarized, Dallas police officers responded at approximately 1:00 a.m. on November 1 to reports of gunfire at 2626 Main Street, in the historic entertainment district while it was crowded with patrons celebrating Halloween. Officers found seven individuals suffering from gunshot wounds; all seven sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Crime scene investigators recovered eleven 9mm fired cartridge casings and projectiles from the area. Surveillance footage, the office said, captured Yancy before the shooting pulling a handgun from his waistband, racking the slide and concealing it again — and moments later pulling the firearm out and firing directly into the crowd in multiple directions, striking seven bystanders. Following witness interviews, anonymous tips and surveillance analysis, detectives positively identified him as the shooter.
The federal hook is Yancy's record. A review of his criminal history revealed a prior felony conviction in Dallas County, the office said; at the time of the shooting he was on felony deferred adjudication probation for child endangerment and had an active warrant for a probation violation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed through an interstate nexus analysis that the ammunition recovered from the scene had traveled in interstate commerce. If convicted, Yancy faces up to 15 years in federal prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marissa Aulbaugh, of the office's Violent Crimes section, is prosecuting the case.
The charge lands inside a larger operation. Operation Deep Cover — the coordinated federal, state and local surge targeting violent crime and illegal firearms in high-density entertainment and commercial corridors across Dallas — launched on Monday and had already produced a defendant charged during its initial rollout before Thursday's announcement. 'When we launched Operation Deep Cover, we made an unequivocal promise: anyone who terrorizes our neighborhoods will face the full weight of the federal government,' Raybould said. 'In less than one week, our task forces have already produced multiple federal charges — including holding accountable an alleged gunman whose reckless actions wrought violence and terror to Deep Ellum. To the criminals out there, we are just getting started.' Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux added his own warning: 'Dallas will not be a safe haven for violent criminals. We are done allowing a small number of individuals to threaten the safety of our residents, businesses, and visitors.' The ATF and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation under the operation's umbrella.
