A 49-year-old man was shot during a robbery early Monday while walking to a gay bar on Oak Lawn Avenue, according to Dallas police reports.
The victim, Doug Tull, was taken to Parkland hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. Tull was walking toward Pekers at 2615 Oak Lawn Ave. at about 1 a.m. when the three suspects pulled up in a car. One of the men jumped out and demanded Tull’s money. When Tull said he didn’t have any money, the suspect shot him.
Tull managed to make his way to Pekers, where someone called 911. Tull told police he didn’t remember the exact location where he was robbed, but it was somewhere in the area of Shelby and Brown streets. The suspects are described as three black males in their early to mid-20s, weighing around 150 pounds and wearing white T-shirts and dark jeans. They fled eastbound on Oak Lawn Avenue.
Reports say Tull initially believed he’d been stabbed during the robbery. It wasn’t until he got to the hospital that a doctor discovered that Tull had actually suffered a gunshot wound below his sternum.
The Dallas Police Department issued an alert Monday night encouraging people to travel in numbers in the Oak Lawn area. It marked the first shooting of a gay bar patron in Oak Lawn since 2007, when a man was fatally shot near an ATM on Throckmorton Street.
Below is the alert sent out by DPD, as well as the full police report from the incident. Anyone with information about the robbery can call DPD at 214-671-4071. This is a developing story. Stay tuned to Instant Tea for updates.
Y’all in consideration for the victim shouldn’t you omit his name from the story and strike it from the report. This guy was victimized so we should respect his privacy.
@Ross H: I understand your concerns, but the public’s right to know generally and with few exceptions outweighs crime victims’ rights to privacy. The victim’s name is public record, and the police report is accessible on DPD’s website.
Hell, not only his name but his address!! WHY, WHY, WHY would you print his address??!?!?!?
I shared the initial story on my FB page so I appreciate the heads up about a violent crime but all it takes is a little Adobe editing to respect the victim while informing the public. Yes the public needs to know however you just negligently gave the name and address of the victim to his attackers…AND the fact that you possibly “outed” someone going an establishment that caters to our community. In my opinion the Voice just victimized the victim…
We’re talking about something here that is common sense…the story can be presented without calling out the individual harmed. Yes its a matter of public record but the public has to actively find the victim’s info. The Voice just plastered the victim’s name and info on the web.
Remember the road to hell is paved in good intentions…the Community’s voice shouldn’t lay any bricks. You can alert the public AND protect the victim at the same time.
Respectfully – Ross H.
Very much agreed wrt the concerns about the address.
Was it necessary to publish his name? And even worse, his address?! Bad journalism!
I live on the victims street and it’s good to know this information .. Maybe not his exact addrease .. But very important information all the same ..putting a name and a face to the crime is important as well … These warnings sometimes get passed over ..this defiantly makes it real for alot of people .. Me included .. I have never had any problems living on this street .. But true I never walk alone there .. Or at night .. I would hope that publishing that information …a community might come to his aid ..
I have to say I I agree with the other posters. Typically newspapers withhold the names, and certainly the addresses, of victims, particularly victims of sexual assault. Even though much of the information is public record, posting it online makes is significantly more accessible to perpetrators – particularly those still at large.
I don’t remember the story, but a few months back I remember the Voice removing the home addresses and phone numbers of some business which discriminated against gay people. Granted, this is just a memory from some time ago and I don’t remember specifics, but I do think the Voice has provided some privacy to individuals.
Maybe I’m totally wrong, so to clarify, is the Voice willing to print:
1) The home address and telephone number of Alan Stock (CEO of Cinemark)?
2) The names, addresses, and phone numbers of his adult children?
3) The name of the school where his minor children attend?
4) His date of birth and social security number?
I don’t purport to have all the above information, but I’m curious where the Voice draws the line between public interest and personal privacy. I think the lines needs to be very well defined.
WHY would you not redact his address????? Hopefully the shooter or his friends are not too smart to Google the incident, see your post, find out where he lives, and then who knows what. Any GOOD journalist would think before they publish a victim’s address. And stop the crap about it in the public domain. Be responsible for a change. I’d sue your asses if it was me.
Folks, if you would take a closer look at said public record containing the address, you would notice that the suspects took the victim’s wallet. They already have his address.
That’s assuming the address on his license is still his current address. I know mine isn’t.
John, you are missing the point. Just because you can give everyone the victims address, while its available if someone knows how to search for it, is simply POOR judgment and journalism.
Highly inappropriate to publish not only his name but home address as well- you should take it down or at least redact the address. Agreed with Brian S. – I’m moving in 2 weeks so my home address will no longer be the same as on my license.
Sorry guys, the victim’s address is public record. We’re not going to redact it. The address is identifying information that not only distinguishes the victim from others named Doug Tull, but also indicates that he lives in the gayborhood and shows where he may have been walking from. If I’m not mistaken, the victim’s address is the site of an apartment complex, so there would be no way to determine from the report which apartment he lives in. On top of that, as I noted, the suspects took his wallet, so they presumably have access to all his information anyway. I think you could make an argument that we should only say he lives in the 2600 block of Throckmorton Street, but given that it’s in the police report and it’s an apartment complex, I’m not sure it would be worth the effort. I truly appreciate your concerns for the victim’s privacy, but it’s problematic when we start to pick and choose what relevant information we share with the public. That’s a slippery slope.
John, I think you’re wrong. It’s no ‘slippery slope’ to redact a victim’s address when the suspects are still at large. It’s poor form, and could be downright dangerous.
While I appreciate the concern of everyone who has posted on the issue of publishing the victim’s name and address, this is not a new or even uncommon practice. Trust me, if the criminals in this case want to find the victim again, they will, and it won’t be by scrolling back through news reports. Their attorney will have access to the information on every copy of the police report.
My bigger concern is this: a week ago the DPD was conducting aggressive “Public Intoxication” enforcement up and down Cedar Springs Road. It would seem to me that, instead of setting up stake outs to arrest citizens of Oak Lawn as they walk to and from the businesses in the area, a few patrols up and down Oak Lawn Ave may have helped to deter this sort of violence.
Heads up to the Dallas Police Department – these are the types of crimes citizens want protection from, not Jay-Walking!
Because something is common, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea. It’s also very common to redact the names of victims, especially when one has been the victim of violence. I want to know exactly what service is provided to the community by printing his exact home address.
John- You are simply wrong. You are practicing juvenile journalism. The community would be no less served by omitting the victims name and specific location. You are “assuming” the public needs to know where he was coming from- since you don’t know yourself. I only see you recounting a police report and no real journalism is involved in that. You simply are providing a after-the-fact excuse for poor ethics and rush to publish your story before thinking it through or getting first-hand knowledge of the situation. Also, while it may be ok in some media outlets to not respect privacy rights- as a voice of our community shouldn’t you error on the side of caution until the victim himself comes forward and provides first-hand information and authorization to publicly identify him? It can be a bigger issue to “out” someone than simply the publics right to know about property theft.
I appreciate the urgency in the release and reporting of this information; however, the lack of discretion and common care for a victim’s rights within your own community is at best disturbing.
take down Tull’s address you IDIOTS…
@John Wright It doesn’t matter if its public record.. The robbers I’m sure are too stupid to find out his information, and what benefit does it do to publish his information?
We’ve said what we have to say about it guys. Thanks.
John,
I think you should revisit this issue. I finally found the article I referenced earlier. It was on May 25th regarding the posting of the home addresses and telephone numbers of Baylor’s executives. The Voice apparently took the information down and when asked about it, you said, I quote:
“We [The Voice] generally don’t print people’s home addresses or private phone numbers without their consent. If you’d like to repost with business e-mails and phones, feel free.”
This seems like a deviation from that policy. Why would the Voice claim privacy for Baylor execs but cite “public information” for Mr. Tull when the same information was available about the Baylor folks. It just doesn’t seem consistent.
@Justin: The answer is simple — because in this case the address is part of an official public record and it’s relevant to the story. The Baylor executives’ addresses were posted by a reader of this blog and had no relevance to the story.
I just wanted to raise my concerns. The decision is yours, good friend. Take care this week 🙂
Deeds are official public records, John. Therefore, the executives’ addresses are public record too, although they may not be particularly relevant. All this justification wouldn’t be necessary if the Voice would just do the right thing and redact his exact address. In your follow-up post you list his residence by block number. Why can’t you do the same thing here?
I doubt the robbers read the Voice, hell I’m surprised anyone reads the Voice.
John, why would you take down your home address if it is a matter of public record anyhow? At this point, I think you are arguing this point for the pure sake of arguing. Why not remove the information and be done? Or leave it, I know if I were him, I would contact a lawyer and find some way to make sure Dallas Voice did not make the mistake again. Whether through monetary repayment to myself or the pure expense of dealing with unnecessary legal expenses to fight your point. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that nothing happens to Mr. Tull as a result of this publication’s negligence and poor journalism.
His exact home address is not relevant- leaving it at “2600 block of Throckmorton” would’ve been fine. The public’s “right to know” would in no way be infringed by redacting such personal information. Publishing it is not only stupid, but could be dangerous.
@Ryan: As I said, it’s not his exact address because he lives in an apartment complex. The report doesn’t give the apartment number. Would it be worse to list a block with 10 single-family homes on it, or to list the address of an apartment complex with 100 apartments?
What does it matter where he lives? Why not just report that an incident happened and leave it at that.
What do you think Doug Tull will think when he wakes up and finds out his address is featured in the article? If anything, I wouldn’t have published his address until you had his permission. I do think it’s good to know the area this happened in, but I agree with most of the posters here. The victim probably would not want his address posted like this…
I will say as someone who lives a street down from the victims addrease .. In which there was no apartment number listed .. I found the information of the addrease of victim usefull .. I’ve moved from Miami and I am not typically scared to walk down this street anytime … That’s just me .. But after reading the information .. And Location of actual attack .. I can as they say walk a mile i’n his shoes .. And I can learn from his experience .. And as a result have changed my mind about walking from my home to the strip .. So I say publishing his addrease possibly saved another victim .. Ok and if it had been me .. Judging by the comments .. That are so concerned for this mans welfare .. Nobody has mentioned that they plan to come to his aid .. So I don’t understand why all this posturing about shoulda coulda woulda .. U should actually do something and help someone i’n ur community.. Instead of just talking about it ..
The victim’s address should have been redacted from the report before releasing it online. Just like someone’s social security number and other personally identifiable information, it should not have been disclosed to the public. I would suspect most people would not want where they live released to the public let alone someone who was victimized by being robbed and shot.
I agree, I think it was a bad decision to post the victims address. Very tacky on the writers and Voices part.
well now, this is amusing. First of all-in Los Angeles we NEVER PRINTED OR ALLOWED TO BE PRINTED a Vict’s home address- I must agree with those above this is very poor judgement on the part of the POLICE IN DALLAS, and the REPORTERS OF THIS PAPER. Next, this RE-AFFIRMS my reasons for being “armed” and my partner being armed EVERYTIME we come to Dallas and to the “gayborhood”.
For thugs to think that “gay men” are either UNWILLING or UNABLE to defend themselves using “deadly force”-could be a “life ending” mistake. I can see the headlines now “Homo with handgun dispatches would be attacker”.
to print, publish, or even release this Vict’s home location-even apartment location is unwise.
Had the Dallas PD and Voice stopped to think- they could find COUNTLESS stories from other URBAN areas where Vict’s have neen stalked by gangsters to keep them from appearing in court. In a few, the Vict’s have been MURDERED to keep them from going to court to testifie-with access to the internet you only make it easy for the thugs to find this Vict again! Just becuase Dallas PD screws up and posts it- in no way means this publication should ,MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AND PUBLISH IT!
The point is, the guy got robbed and it took place a given time and location- the rest is meaningless to everybody else and NOT IMPORTANT TO PRINT! I am shocked that the State of Texas has no “privacy law” for Vict’s of violent crimes which keeps their names and info out of the media and press unless they CHOOSE to release it publically.
@ John Wright, I just picked up on the fact you may work for this GLBT publication. The fact you seem to feel this is somehow censure ship is misguided and now well thought out. This type of “cop out” clearly shows how uniformed you are within the gay community but even Dallas PD-who released the Vict’s full name and home location.
I have seen with my own eyes, Vict, witnesses, and even people who report crimes harassed, stalked, and hunted down and KILLED just because they stepped forward to report a crime. This is especially true when GANGMEMBERS ARE INVOLVED. While the “Mr Jon Q. Citizen” may not mean anything to you-WHAT DOES IT SAY WHEN THUGS EVEN HUNT DOWN POLICE OFFICERS? THEY DO! AND THEY FIND US!
In 1984, Tom Williams a Detective with LAPD was MURDERED while taking his son to daycare-Tom was in court testifying against the man for a “robbery” at the time. The suspect/ killer was out on “bail”. In the mid 1990’s, Russell Kuster, a detective with the LAPD was out one night with his wife when he was confronted by an armed man who he had arrested. Seated in a Denny’s with his wife he managed to convince the suspect to “take it outside so nobody gets hurt”. Detective Kuster managed to kill the suspect before anyone else was hurt. Detective Kuster died in this attack. What is stopping people like this from hunting down this man-YOU AND DALLAS PD JUST MADE IT A BIT SIMPLER TO FIND HIM!
It is really arrogant of you to hide behind the lame argument of “free press” and it is less than professional for the Dallas Police Department to release the vict’s full name, and his personal information. As I said above, in California law enforcement has a duty to protect our vict’s as much as we can and we do that by not giving out their information to start with.
If I were that Vict- I WOULD BE LIVID AND IF I SAW IT PUBLISHED-I WOULD CERTAINLY BE MAKING A LOUD COMPLAINT AT YOUR PUBLICATION. I suggest you rethink this policy and consider “protecting” members of our community by using better judgement on this matter in the future. You can still report the “facts” and get the message out, while at the same time you provide a level of safety for the vict who IS A MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY!
As one of Doug’s family members who is looking all of this up online from across the country, I wonder if Mr. Wright has been in this business long enough to hear the words that I am saying very loudly……….POSSIBLE LAWSUIT.
How stupid are you??? Let’s do the same to one of your family members and then get your opinion on your “free press” rights. What ever happened to victim’s rights? I don’t care where a person lives, or what kind of bar they frequently visit, NO one has the right to hurt them. And again to John Wright…. your comment about the fact that this also indicates that he lives in the gayborhood and shows where he may have been walking from. BIG FREAKING DEAL!!!!!!!!! First off……..”gayborhood”? What are you, an idiot??? How prejudiced is that statement? I sure hope that you shop at the approved grocery store or go to the approved place to eat. If not, maybe your address will be listed next!!!!
Chris,
I can completely understand how calling it the “gayborhood” may sound to you. However, that is what a majority of the gay people in that area call it. Why? Because we feel like it’s OUR neighborhood. Somewhere we all feel like we belong. Again I understand your point as well. Back to the matter at hand. Just because someone’s address or personal info is public record DOES NOT mean you have to publish it. Someone mentioned that the paper only published the block address, without the apartment number, so it wasn’t a big deal. NOT TRUE at all!! What makes you people think that a person who committed the crime in the first place, won’t wait on the property or across the street for Doug to come outside?? These people will do anything to keep witnesses from testifying or identifying them in a line-up. Open your eyes. I am currently a Criminal Justice student. I know enough already, that you can never underestimate the criminal mind. It’s time to take back the neighborhood. Don’t be afraid to report suspicioud activity. Even if it ends up not being criminal, others will know crime and suspicious behaviour will not be tolerated. I wish a speedy recovery and swift justice for the victim and his family.
Maybe I am missing something or maybe I his address was already redacted, but it is very unclear from the story & report above where Mr. Tull actually lives. It mentions that he was walking home in the area of Shelby & Brown. He could live at Gilbert & Throckmorton or presumably any neighborhood within walking distance. I do feel it is important to know where the incident took place. Where violence strikes, it usually strikes again and again. As for the comment about the assailants attorney having the victims address, this is assuming that thy are even caught & brought to (semi)justice. We all know that if they are caught, they will probably be out on bail ready to rob and hurt, maybe kill, someone else. As for publishing his name, they did steal his wallet, enough said. I do see both sides of this discussion, however I do believe that the community would best be served by the Voice having a standard way of handling situations like these, rather than picking and choosing what to publish. Block number or intersection of where the crime occurred is sufficient, yes sometimes this maybe where the victim lives, but the public does have the right to know specifically, where crimes are being committed.
Jenn,
Thank you for clarifying some things. That certainly makes us feel better.
Paul-Yes you are absolutely correct, they have taken his address out of the article. The name wasn’t the issue, it was the fact that they printed the address. Even though it is an apartment, it should not have been listed!!! Not sure exactly when it was taken out, but just very thankful that they did it! I do agree with your comment about the public needing to know specifically where the crime was committed. That is certainly very important.
Clearly, this publication has a duty to make the community aware of crimes in the community. They have a duty to inform others so those living in that area can take proper measures to protect themselves. Also, by printing this story it allows others to come forward as witnesses. So, this is fine-but they also DO HAVE an obligation (ethical and even some legal) to use care on the information they have. You can accomplish both the inform and protect aspects as a community publication with some simple good judgment (i.e.-COMMON SENSE).
If anyone thinks that these thugs are ignorant, and technologically UN savvy-you are wrong. They do use “search engines”, “Google image searches”, search engines which disclose your home address, phone and other details. Like police, they do INVESTIGATIONS using public media to track people down-yes-THE BAD GUYS! They watch “face book” and all those “up dates” to see when you are NOT HOME so they can rip you off- many are reckless with their “privacy” these days. Thugs know most cities-even Dallas have “backwards books” on line! Look at how perverse “identity theft” is-they know how to get details on people.
Police Departments make mistakes-I was shocked that DPD released the whole damn crime report unedited. I don’t know if this is the bad judgment of a given officer or the policy of the department as a whole-but it should not be done. You put victims-ALL VICTEMS in danger for retaliation for coming forward-that is a simple fact they cannot ignore or deny.
Maybe this is a teachable moment for those down at the Voice? I hope they learned that their community want “just the facts” like when, where (with some limits), how, and if they know-“why”. The “who” is not at all important in many matters-certainly when the suspects are not in custody? I want the “who” protected from these savages and social predators. If the victim is silly enough to consent to their name, home address, and photo image used-then The Voice can say, “Hey we asked and he approved”. I doubt if this gunshot victim was given that choice from what I have seen in this article-it does not make sense that writer went into that ICU room and did a one on one interview with him.
@ Paul, the article clearly says, “UNK SUSP SHOT COMP BELOW THE STERNUM AND TOOK COMP’S PROPERTY W/O HIS CONSENT AND FLED E/B ON OAKLAWN” all accounts of this say these suspects are “outstanding” and “not in custody”. It is also clear from reading the crime report “multiple suspects” were involved “3 male M/B (male black) wearing white T-shirts and dark jeans”. FYI, this level of a “suspect description” is totally worthless and I couldn’t catch anyone with it! Come-on this type of description applies to half the young people out on any given night at a club or on the street!
I am here to tell you-THIS IS A WORTHLESS description of the suspects. It happens all too often. Much of this has a lot to do with surprise, lighting, multi suspects, and a whole list of other factors. Unless something changes, the chances of these savages getting caught are remote. Even if they catch the suspects, it is probably UNLIKELY that this victim will be able to identify one of them let alone all three or even the car involved- it is simply a tall order to ask this man after being shot or traumatized as he has been. So, chances are they will get away with it and remain among us.
Sadly, many victims think that because they live in a “civilized” world. They think living in a “trendy urban area” are safer and the police will always be present to protect them-this could not be further from the truth. The police, at BEST are “reactionary” to crimes. A crime is committed and they respond with officers, and investors, and science. Then, when/IF someone is caught a whole other level of goverment becomes involved-the courts and lawyers.
If people just stopped to think a bit, and use some common sense they could do a lot to protect themselves. These are simple things like walking in well illuminated areas, walk with a friend or groups, pay attention to your surroundings and avoid people who loiter in the shadows. It appears he had “tear gas” with him and it was deployed (per the article). Tea Gas is better than nothing but it is not “magic” and does not work 100% of the time. Most carry it in a cute holder in their pocket or on their keys and then hesitate to use it when the time comes. Why not walk with it out and in hand? Even walking with a degree of self confidence and “command presence” may be enough to make these animals select another to victimize.
I told people, “social predators are like any other predator-they prey upon our weak, weary and the wounded of our society. They often attack in packs” If you appear weak, or older your chances go up of being targeted-that’s just a sad fact. Even people with physical limitations make appealing targets to these thugs. I have already commented more on this article than I wanted but when I am out in the gayborhood I see guys walking around as if they are in their living room-totally oblivious to what is going on around them. They have few if any “urban survival skills” at all.
exactly, it’s public record – although most normal people don’t cruise the DPD website just for the heck of it – if something happens in their neighborhood, then maybe for details. My main question is – WHY, WHY, WHY, do people continue hoofing it around alone on that side of town? Yes, it’s safer than it was, and even though I live 2 blocks off the strip on the lemmon side – you would never catch me walking alone at night even on that side, which is a tad better – and NO way will I walk more than 10 steps past the door of Sue Ellens to the south…even in the daytime…and one more things…wtf are they talking about a barbershop? there is no barber shop across from that bank – there’s the “Perky Poodle” and sometimes I wonder if people got their hair cut there by the mess on their head, but it’s for dogs…duh..I think they might have said that from the striped pole outside the PHARMACY…again, NOT a barber shop…shoddy work with details…
Bruce W. let me help you understand “why” these people “continue hoofing it around alone on that side of town? ” it isa total mindset”it won’t happen to me” and a totally false sense of security. The have told themselves this personal fable “it won’t happen to me” or “it has never happened to me” so they stroll right out into harms way. You are correct about “most normal people don’t cruise the DPD website just for the heck of it ” I can find just about anyone these days by using “search engines”. I just go to google and type in a name and wham! ANYTIME YOU WERE INTERVIEWED, ANYTIME YOU NAME WAS MENTIONED IN THE PAPER IN THE MEDIA, ANYTIME YOUR PHOTO WAS PUBLISHED AND A NAME UNDER IT, YOUR FACE BOOK PAGE-it all comes up. I won’t tell you which are best to use but there are alot of them. People who commit acts like this on helpless people are not “normal” they are animals, savages who get off on your pain. If they don’t live in the “hood” then they often will come in from other areas via our freeway systems, and public transportation. I don’t care where you live-it can happen anywhere and that is my point-some places just have a higher chance of it happening-population has alot to do with it. More people, more chances for crime to occure becuase more possible vict’s all grouped together. I have seen some of the areas off the main street around the bars- while I am sure they are nice for some- you are walking distance from some of those ugly areas- if we can do it-SO CAN THEY. From what I have seen- our community has a long long way before they turn that area around to any real degree at all.
i just tryed to post an update, internet mess up, the reports are wrong!!!!!! it was a light grey nisson altma about a 1997, 2 guys beat me and the other drove the car, get it right, i can’t leave the house, aways in fear………….. you all think your safe….your not…………