Evidence review now shifts to prosecutors after police publish key video from the Commerce Street scene.
DALLAS — Dallas police released body-camera video Wednesday from a pre-dawn shooting Monday outside the Hyde & Seek Lounge on Commerce Street, where officers shot and killed an armed man moments after he opened fire, killing one man and wounding three others.
The footage and timeline anchor the next phase of the case, which includes interviews with dozens of witnesses, ballistics tests and a review by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office. The department identified the gunman as 31-year-old Kedric McDonald and the man killed in a car as 27-year-old Zemeid Cox. Chief Daniel Comeaux said two officers fired after McDonald pointed a handgun at them in a crowded parking area, a decision that will be examined under routine use-of-force protocols.
Police said officers were already nearby because of a disturbance inside the club earlier in the night. At about 2 a.m., McDonald fired into Cox’s vehicle, then shot again, hitting three bystanders, according to the initial investigation. Body-camera audio records officers shouting, “Drop the gun,” as they seek cover behind cars and move toward the gunfire. Seconds later, two officers shoot McDonald. The video shows a chaotic aftermath: alarms sounding, people ducking behind bumpers and officers calling out for tourniquets and medics. Paramedics arrived within minutes. Cox and McDonald were pronounced dead at the scene; the other victims were transported with injuries not considered life-threatening.
Officials have not stated a motive or described the nature of the dispute tied to the earlier disturbance. Detectives recovered shell casings and a handgun near McDonald. Names of the two officers who fired were not released Wednesday pending required interviews. No officers were hurt. Investigators are seeking additional video from nearby businesses, mapping rounds to determine sequence and distance. Police said forensic tests will include DNA and fingerprint checks on the recovered firearm and gunshot residue testing, along with trajectory analysis across the lot and curb line that frame the club entrance.
Commerce Street and nearby blocks host several late-night venues and have produced heavy weekend call volumes for years. The department counted six officer-involved shootings before this week; Monday’s was the seventh this year. Past incidents in the central business district have prompted more walk-throughs by patrol and earlier staging of officers at bar closing time. The footage in this case underscores the challenge officers face when shots ring out in tight spaces bordered by parked cars, alleyways and side doors, where bystanders and potential victims mix within feet of a person firing a gun.
From here, detectives will complete reports for prosecutors, who will review the officers’ use of force. That review typically weighs the immediacy of the threat, audible police commands and whether less-lethal options were feasible in the time available. A separate administrative inquiry will determine whether department policy was followed and will decide when to release the officers’ names. Officials said they will update victim conditions if they change and will share any confirmed motive once established by interviews or recovered messages and calls tied to the people involved. No hearings are scheduled yet; the district attorney’s evaluation begins after the case file is delivered.
By late Wednesday, a few candles and flowers marked a spot along the curb where people gathered after sunrise Monday. A man who works in the area, giving his name only as Luis, said he heard “a burst of shots” and saw patrons scatter toward the alley. “Then I heard officers yelling for people to move back,” he said. A woman who declined to be named said she watched medics carry supplies through a line of patrol cars. “It got quiet except for alarms and a voice yelling for an ambulance,” she said.
As of Wednesday night, police had not announced a motive or said whether McDonald knew the three wounded bystanders. The case moves to the district attorney after detectives finalize interviews and lab results; the next formal update is expected once files are submitted for review.
Author note: Last updated November 27, 2025.