The 1984 Dallas nightclub shooting was a
mass shooting
A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...
that occurred on June 29, 1984, in
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Abdelkrim Belachheb, a 39-year-old
Moroccan national and
resident alien
In law, an alien is generally any person (including an organization) who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ across legal systems.
Lexicology
The term "alien" is derived from the L ...
, opened fire in Ianni's Restaurant and Club, a bar, killing six and severely injuring one.
As under
Texas law multiple murder by itself was not one of the aggravating factors required to make murder a
capital crime, Belachheb could not be sentenced to death. The shooting resulted in a change in Texas law making multiple murder itself a capital crime, and Belachheb was instead sentenced to
life in prison. The shooting also resulted in criticism of
American immigration policy, as Belachheb was able to get a visa despite being a fugitive in both
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and Morocco. Shortly after the 30th anniversary of the shooting, ''
The Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
'' described it as "Dallas’ worst mass murder".
Shooting
Fifteen minutes after midnight on June 29, 1984, Abdelkrim Belachheb opened fire in the Ianni's Restaurant and Club bar in Dallas, Texas. Belachheb was having an argument with a woman, before she shoved him away on the dance floor and called him a "monkey".
Belachheb blew her a kiss and left the bar, returning with a
Smith & Wesson 459 from his car.
He told the woman "I've had enough with you", shot the woman point blank, and then walked down the row of bar stools, shooting four others. Belachheb exited the bar, but then returned and shot and killed another man. Belachheb then fled the bar, shooting a seventh man as he escaped.
Three of the six killed were shot execution-style, with the gun held to their heads.
He fired another shot at an employee outside of the building.
Belachheb was described as being calm during the shooting.
After fleeing the club, he drove his car into a telephone pole, which the police traced to him.
Belachheb was arrested at a friend's house, from the crash site, less than 2 hours later.
Five victims died at the scene, while the woman who had argued with Belachheb died en route to
Parkland Memorial Hospital.
One victim was left in serious condition, but survived.
Perpetrator
Abdelkrim Belachheb was born November 24, 1944, in
N'Zalat Bni Amar, Morocco. His father described him to
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
in August 1985, as having been a problematic child, and said he had often got into fights with other children and as a result was often subject to
corporal punishment
A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...
. His family later moved with Belachheb to
Fez due to the issues he caused. On June 21, 1963, Belachheb stabbed a man in
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
using a
pocketknife during a street fight. Belachheb skipped the trial and was never convicted, and records show he was in Europe only 19 months later. He spent several years moving around Europe. He married a Belgian woman and had two children with her. He was regularly
unfaithful and
beat her.
On Belachheb's 35th birthday, enraged that there was not enough food in the fridge to prepare the dinner he wanted to make, he nearly beat his wife to death. When his daughter yelled for him to stop, he slapped her.
After being treated at the hospital, his wife filed charges against him and filed for divorce. After being released from jail, he returned to Morocco, and immediately sought to find a new country to live in. He was tried and convicted
in absentia
''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...
for the assault of his wife and daughter, and faced a two-year prison sentence.
Belachheb was able to enter the United States on a tourist visa despite the fact he was a fugitive in Belgium and Morocco.
His application for entry may have involved fraud.
As American embassies began a policy of destroying visa records and associated documentation after a one-year period after the
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis () began on November 4, 1979, when 66 Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage at the Embassy of the United States in Tehran, with 52 of them being held until January 20, 1981. Th ...
, it could not be precisely determined what Belachheb had done to enter the country. Belachheb claimed to have been rejected by The Netherlands, Canada, Italy, and Switzerland, but not the U.S. The agencies involved in processing his application each deflected blame for his admission to other agencies.
Belachheb entered on a
B-2 visa B- may refer to:
*B-, a blood type
* B- (grade), an academic grade
*B − L
In particle physics, ''B'' − ''L'' (pronounced "bee minus ell") is a quantum number which is the difference between the baryon number () and the lepton ...
, which requires the applicant to provide proof they do not plan to stay in America. Holders of a B-2 visa are prohibited from seeking employment. He lied to U.S. consular officials by telling them he had been living in Morocco for the past five years, a requirement for the visa, while he had actually been living in Belgium until a month before he applied.
Belachheb denied any criminal activity or mental problems while applying for a visa.
Belgian authorities knew him to have 13 assaults, one child beating, two involuntarily hospitalizations due to mental health and alcoholism, two terms in jail, and one on probation on his record, which should have barred Belachheb from entering the country.
He received a non-immigrant visa on July 17, 1980, and entered the U.S. on April 22, 1981.
Belachheb illegally searched for a job, in violation of his visa. He married an American citizen, granting him
permanent residency
Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...
in the United States on January 16, 1984.
He often beat or threatened his wife.
After an argument ten days before the shooting, she told Belachheb that she did not want to speak to or hear from him again. At the trial, she compared him to "a freight train out of control".
Belachheb was unemployed. He had previously been employed as a waiter for three weeks at a restaurant in
Addison, but quit his job the Wednesday prior to the shooting.
Belachheb bought the gun used in the shooting at a pawn shop.
Belachheb blamed American women for his problems, and was said to have difficulty adjusting to American society.
Legal proceedings
Belachheb was initially only charged for the death of the woman he had fought with.
He was held on US$500,000
bond.
Shortly after the shooting, he was placed in
solitary confinement
Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...
under 24-hour suicide watch in jail.
The following Monday, he was charged with five additional counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, with a bond of $250,000 on each count.
Ianni's reopened for business the same day.
Belachheb plead
not guilty by reason of insanity.
His defense argued that he had
brain damage
Brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating trauma-induced damage.
A common ...
from repeated blows to the head and was unable to tell right from wrong.
A doctor testified at his trial that he had
paranoid schizophrenia and was undergoing a seizure at the time of the shooting.
Two other psychiatrists testified that he instead had an
anti-social personality, but was sane.
Additionally, there was no evidence of brain damage and the doctor stated that Belachheb had normal or above average intelligence.
As under Texas law multiple murder was not itself a
capital crime, Belachheb could not be sentenced to death.
Belachheb was instead sentenced to six consecutive life sentences and fined $70,000, $10,000 for each victim, for the murders, in addition to a $10,000 fine and the maximum 20 years in prison for attempted murder of the seventh victim, to be served consecutively.
Belachheb was surprised at the verdict, and thought he would be released from prison. Belachheb was eligible for parole in 2004.
During the next legislative session, a "multiple victims" provision was added to Texas's death penalty statute.
He appealed his sentence. The courts affirmed the original ruling.
The shooting resulted in criticism of
American immigration policy, as Belachheb was able to get a visa despite being a fugitive in both
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and Morocco. An August 1985
''20/20'' broadcast, titled ''Passport for Murder'', featured several witnesses and the surviving victim of the shooting. The main focus of the broadcast was how easy it had been for Belachheb to lie his way into the United States. John McNeill, the injured victim who survived, while discussing Belachheb's admission to America, stated in January 1985 that: "We need to put some pressure on somebody, and we've go to do this together. I didn't appreciate getting blown away, and I think there was negligence there." McNeill and relatives of four of the dead victims sued the
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was a United States federal government agency under the United States Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and under the United States Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003.
Refe ...
, but the lawsuit did not get far. McNeill's attorney stated that "Asking him if he is a nice guy is not an adequate screening procedure."
Legacy
Shortly after the 30th anniversary of the shooting, ''
The Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
'' described it as "Dallas’ worst mass murder".
In 2003, American author
Gary M. Lavergne wrote a book about the case, ''Worse Than Death: The Dallas Nightclub Murders and the Texas Multiple Murder Law'', published by
University of North Texas Press.
Belachheb died in prison at age 72 on October 19, 2017, of natural causes.
References
Works cited
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallas nightclub shooting, 1984
1984 mass shootings in the United States
1984 murders in the United States
Deaths by firearm in Texas
June 1984 in the United States
Mass murder in Texas
Mass murder in the United States in the 1980s
Mass shootings in Texas
1984 in Texas
1980s crimes in Texas
Mass murder in 1984
Attacks on nightclubs in the United States
Attacks on buildings and structures in Texas
Attacks on buildings and structures in 1984
1980s in Dallas