Bystander killed, 2nd man wounded in shooting near Crowne Plaza hotel in downtown Dallas

A bystander was killed in the crossfire and a second man was wounded as two groups exchanged gunfire in downtown Dallas on Friday evening.

Dozens of officers were called to Elm and North Griffin streets, near the Crowne Plaza hotel, just after 6:30 p.m.

When they arrived, they found one man dead and a second man who had been wounded by gunfire.

Police said that two groups of people had gotten into a confrontation at Elm and North Lamar streets. They continued to walk east on Elm, then started shooting when they got to North Griffin Street.

The man who was killed was sitting at a nearby bus stop. His name was not released.

A white sheet covered a body on a bench outside the Homewood Suites, across Griffin Street from the Crowne Plaza. A pair of shoes poked out from the bottom of the sheet.

The wounded man is a 19-year-old who was in one of the groups involved in the confrontation. He was taken to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, and his condition was not known.

Police did not say whether any suspects were in custody.

Officers closed several blocks of Elm and Griffin streets while they investigated, snarling downtown traffic for hours.

Police could be seen inspecting a shoe and a pair of Lime scooters on the ground at the entrance of a parking garage, and a handgun was lying beneath a van. Officers also appeared to be interviewing a woman.

At the end of May — an unusually violent month in Dallas — police officials added eight detectives to the 14-person homicide unit.

They also announced the creation of a homicide response team that consisted of officers from the SWAT, fusion and fugitive units. Maj. Max Geron said the officers would be deployed on some homicide cases to look for “additional witnesses or potential sources of video” as well as to add “a visible presence in the neighborhood