The number of Texas women shot and killed by their intimate partners has nearly doubled since 2013.
That鈥檚 according to a from the Texas Council on Family Violence, which reported that there were 205 domestic violence victims killed by their intimate partners in Texas last year. 四虎影院 found that about 1 in 5 of lived in North Texas.
The majority of domestic violence homicides both statewide and locally were shootings. Experts say the presence of a firearm in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.
Domestic abusers under a protective order are banned from having guns under state and federal law. But Tabetha Harrison, the coordinated community response manager at the Texas Council on Family Violence, said at least 20 abusers fell through the cracks last year 鈥� and that cost lives.
鈥淭hey shouldn't have had the weapon in the first place,鈥� Harrison said.
One of those perpetrators was Devante Traylor from Dallas. Traylor, who shot and killed his 28-year-old girlfriend, Ra鈥橨ean Jackson, was prohibited from possessing a firearm for assaulting his previous partner according to . Traylor has been charged with murder for Jackson鈥檚 killing.
The Supreme Court upheld the law that bans people under protective orders from having guns in its Rahimi ruling earlier this year, a case that originated in Arlington. But Texas doesn't have a statewide system in place to remove those weapons once a protective order is issued despite efforts during past legislative sessions.
Molly Voyles, the public policy director for the Texas Council on Family Violence, said the lack of accountability around firearms and protective orders causes a strain.
鈥淭he survivor knows they鈥檙e prohibited, but they don鈥檛 truly have the weight off of them that that has been implemented,鈥� Voyles said.
Survivors who have taken steps to leave, including seeking a protective order, are also at a greater risk. More than half of the victims killed in 2023 had taken steps to end the abuse, and 92 had separated from their abusive partner or ended their relationship according to the report.
Mariah Gardner, a domestic violence survivor from San Antonio, said she didn鈥檛 know how vulnerable she would be after leaving her abusive partner. Five months after their divorce in 2023, Gardner's ex-husband shot her seven times and stabbed their two children with a knife. Her 11-month old daughter Willow was killed 鈥� but Gardner and her older daughter lived.
Gardner鈥檚 harrowing story wasn鈥檛 included in the Honoring Texas Victims Report. She said the report, while important, captures only a fraction of the impact of domestic abuse.
鈥淏ecause we survived, we weren't captured in the data,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o imagine how many lives have been broken, how many lives have been destroyed, but they didn't die.鈥�
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
Caroline Love is a corps member for 四虎影院.
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