DALLAS -- Four people were killed and more than a dozen others were wounded early Sunday across separate shootings in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood, sending Halloween revelers running for cover as first responders raced between sprawling scenes.

At a brief news conference Sunday morning, police Chief Daniel Comeaux said the shootings unfolded in three locations in less than two hours: 12:20 a.m. in the 2600 block of Elm Street, 1:05 a.m. in the 2600 block of Main Street, and 1:35 a.m. in the 200 block of South Crowdus Street. All sit within walking distance of one another in the heart of the entertainment district, where bars, restaurants and live-music venues often draw crowds late into the night.

In total, Comeaux said four people were killed and at least 15 more were injured.

“This is completely unacceptable," he said. "We're going to do everything that we need to do to get everyone in custody that's responsible for this."

According to Comeaux, the department had stepped up patrols ahead of the holiday weekend, having spent days preparing staffing and response plans. One officer told the chief those plans put them in place to react to the gunfire almost immediately, which Comeaux credited with preventing further carnage.

As of Sunday evening, police said they were still searching for the shooters — and for what prompted the violence.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and everyone affected by these heinous shootings, and my full support lies with the Dallas Police Department as it investigates this incident and works to bring those responsible to justice," Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson wrote in a statement. "Public safety must always remain our top priority and we must continue to explore strategies to ensure that Deep Ellum can be a safe gathering place in our city.”

Related:Deep Ellum shootings: What to know after 4 killed, about 15 injured in Dallas

A scene of celebration, then chaos

Dispatch audio and radio traffic offered the first minute-by-minute account of how the shootings unfolded, the night measured in bursts of gunfire, frantic calls for medical help and repeated requests for more officers and ambulances.

“We got gunshots on Elm,” the first caller said about 12:18 a.m. “We got a bunch of people running.”

As first responders arrived to find the neighborhood thrust into chaos, bystanders reported a gunman wearing a zip-up hoodie and a black and white clown mask — and more victims.

“I got multiple gunshot victims over here,” one man said. “There are two at Elm and July Alley.”

About 12:45 a.m., dispatchers received a report of another man wounded near Main Street and Malcolm X Boulevard.

“We have a gunshot wound victim over here now, too,” the caller said, noting he had been shot in the arm and the hand. Officers, already looking for a masked shooter, were sent searching for a black Dodge Ram and two more potential suspects.

Then, nearly an hour into the night’s violence, a second shooting was reported.

About 1:10 a.m., a man told dispatchers they needed help from other stations, reporting several more victims.

“I have five people shot in Deep Ellum,” he said. “I need you to get people down here.”

Multiple victims were receiving CPR, according to the radio traffic. One caller reported a shooter had pulled out an automatic weapon as another emphasized the latest shooting was separate from the earlier violence.

“Completely separate shooting — crazy,” he said.

The reports continued. Shortly before 2 a.m., callers described hearing more gunshots. Two victims were reported near Main Street, followed by two more on Elm Street, including one who had been shot in the chest.

“Multiple gunshots just heard,” a caller reported. “Multiple people running toward Elm in all directions.”

Then: “Looks like they’re still discovering victims.”

Jason Evans, a spokesman for Dallas-Fire Rescue, said the agency transported 11 patients in the area between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. Sunday, after receiving calls that reported gunshot wounds. People were taken to Baylor Medical Center and Parkland Memorial Hospital.

After the last ambulance left, officers turned their attention to clearing the streets. According to the audio, pepper balls were deployed to disperse the remaining crowds, sending people scrambling once more.

"Changed my world"

Brandon Dunson, 34, said he rarely goes to Deep Ellum, but decided to visit with his friends for Halloween night.

Dunson, who lives in Irving, was hanging outside with his friends when a round of five or six gunshots rang out. He ducked to take cover behind a white Cadillac, and said he could feel bullets ricocheting off objects around him.

"I was talking to my homeboy when it happened, and I grabbed him as we were going to the ground, trying to pull him down with me," Dunson said. "As I was getting back up, he was getting up, and that's when I saw the two guys that were shot."

People immediately started running, Dunson said, accidentally stepping on each other as they fled.

"Unfortunately, that changed my world," he said.

Thomas Jennings, a bartender at St. Pete's Dancing Marlin on Commerce Street, said he initially mistook the gunshots for fireworks.

The commotion came into focus, Jennings said, when officers started swarming the area from multiple directions. Close by, police on horseback made room for emergency crews.

Looking outside, Jennings said he saw two motionless people, including a young woman lying near a damaged vehicle, one foot still inside.

As they continued their closing duties, Jennings said he tried to comfort a shaken coworker. It wasn't until later, while speaking with detectives outside, that he heard reports of another shooting over police radios and watched as officers rushed to the next scene.

"It was like hell," Jennings said. "It just kept repeating itself."

Violence echoed

The violence Sunday echoed a similar night of gunfire in the entertainment district earlier this year, when a pair of shootings marred Cinco de Mayo celebrations, wounding five people and killing a 26-year-old security guard as he tried to break up a fight.

The shootings, then and now, have renewed concerns about public safety in the neighborhood, where law enforcement and the Deep Ellum Foundation — the nonprofit tasked with the district’s upkeep — have worked for years to curb violence through increased security and expanded surveillance.

City council member Jesse Moreno, whose district includes Deep Ellum, said he requested a meeting with Comeaux and City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert to discuss the shootings and public safety concerns in the entertainment district.

Moreno said his office and the Deep Ellum Foundation were planning to hold two public-safety meetings this week — one Wednesday for the general public and another Friday for the business community.

The discussions, he said, will help shape the path forward.

“I can't make that determination by myself,” Moreno said in an interview. “That's going to require feedback from everybody.”

Veronica Young, who lives in Deep Ellum and works for its foundation, said the people she’s met in the area have become more than neighbors. They’re friends, even family.

That’s why what happened Sunday hurt so deeply: Families, she said, are grieving losses no one should have to endure.

“There are hard questions that deserve answers, and important work ahead of us,” Young said. “But right now, my heart is with those families. I hope they know that this community is grieving alongside them, and that they're not alone.”

Assistant breaking news editor Leah Waters and staff writers Nicole Asbury, Lana Ferguson and Neal Franklin contributed to this report.

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