Federal authorities in Texas planned to detail their response Monday to a series of Dallas shootings that were among numerous gun incidents across the United States over Halloween weekend. The incidents left at least eight people dead and dozens more injured.

The deadliest occurred in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood, a center of music and restaurants. Three shootings there took place over about an hour and 15 minutes early Sunday, killing four people and injuring 15. The U.S. attorney’s office planned a Monday news conference to discuss federal actions connected to the shootings.

Investigators continued searching for suspects and for the motives behind the violence. Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said investigators were still trying to determine whether the three shootings were related and why they started.

Police had increased their presence in Deep Ellum before the shootings, and the district had experienced deadly violence earlier this year. Two people were fatally stabbed during a fight outside a nightclub in February. In May, a security guard was shot and killed while trying to break up a fight inside a nightclub. Police also reported nonfatal shootings, including during Cinco de Mayo festivities in May, when five people were wounded outside a sports bar.

In Jackson, Mississippi, two men wearing ski masks entered a nightclub shortly before a Halloween costume-party shooting early Sunday, police said. At least one of the suspects opened fire into the crowd. A 20-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman were killed, while six people were taken to hospitals with injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening. The suspects had not been identified.

“No one should have to fear for his life while enjoying an evening out,” Jackson Mayor John Horhn said in a statement following the shooting.

Near Indiana University’s campus, seven people were wounded in a shooting early Sunday in a busy nightlife area. Police said none of the victims were believed to be students. “This is unacceptable in Bloomington, and in any community,” Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson said Sunday in a video address shared on social media. Thomson said even with increased police staffing, no public safety plan can eliminate every act of violence.

Police in college towns reported shootings in nightlife districts where annual Halloween gatherings are popular, including Fayetteville, Arkansas; Birmingham, Alabama; Newark, Delaware; Bloomington, Illinois; and Bloomington, Indiana.

In Birmingham, one person was killed and eight others were wounded in two separate shootings just outside Legion Field after Saturday night’s annual Magic City Classic college football game. Alabama State and Alabama A&M are archrivals whose annual contest has been played for more than 100 years. Nearly 70,000 fans attended, and Alabama A&M won 31-28. The event draws some of the largest crowds in the country for games played in its college football division. Birmingham Police Chief Michael Pickett said most spectators and families had left the stadium property after the game. The first shooting occurred nearby, where vendors were set up along Graymont Avenue.

Multiple academic studies of police department and hospital data from major cities over the last decade have shown gun violence is more frequent at night, on weekends and on holidays. Several studies pointed to July Fourth as either one of the most violent holidays or the most violent holiday because of dark hours for fireworks celebrations, combined with alcohol consumption and other factors. New Year’s and Halloween also ranked high for gun violence incidents.

FBI numbers on 2025 crime put the U.S. homicide rate at its lowest point in 75 years. Homicides decreased by 18%, and overall violent crime dropped 9.3%. Cities and municipalities across the country generally experienced declines in homicides and violence over the previous several years, with a few exceptions. Federal authorities and nonprofit groups said national violent-crime and homicide rates had been declining since 2022, and experts said the trend continued through the first six months of 2026.

Federal authorities in Texas were preparing to explain their response Monday. Dallas investigators were still trying to determine whether the three Deep Ellum shootings were related, and Jackson police had not identified the suspects in the nightclub shooting. Those questions remained unresolved as elected officials continued to condemn the weekend’s violence.

John Raby reported from Charleston, West Virginia. Associated Press reporters Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to the report.