Eric Moore, 40, cared for the neighborhood kids — buying uniforms or frozen treats from the ice cream truck.
By Julia James
https://www.dallasnews.com/
This story is part of The Dallas Morning News’ homicide project focused on sharing the stories of all people killed in Dallas in 2024.
Anna Moore became an aunt at 14. Her nephew was close enough in age that he felt like a little brother, one that she taught to skateboard and tie his shoes.
She called him her four-in-one — nephew, son, brother and friend. As they grew up, Eric Moore became one of the people she could call for anything: to clean her windows, to build her a back patio, or to give her son a reality check.
“I know when I call him, even if he’s gonna be late, he’s coming,” she said.
On Nov. 20, four days after Anna’s birthday, Eric was fatally shot. He had called her to send good wishes and said he would come by the next week, but he never got the chance.
Eric was one of three men found shot in southeast Oak Cliff. The other two survived, but he died at the hospital. As of early January, police said the investigation was ongoing and did not share any suspect information.
Arletha Moore-Kazee said her son could be a perfectionist once he set his mind to a project, and nowhere was it more evident than in his hobby of fixing up classic cars. She said often the car was in disrepair when he got it, but Eric “brought it to life.”
While many of them were sold for a profit, his family couldn’t part with the bright blue Chevy truck he treasured.
Eric’s daughter Syncere, now 11, posed behind the wheel of the truck with him as a toddler. She loved working on cars with her dad, her uncle Cedrick Moore said. Cedrick has the truck now, but has promised it to Syncere once he makes some fixes.
Multiple family members said Eric regularly looked after the neighborhood kids — buying uniforms or frozen treats from the ice cream truck, giving them haircuts and coordinating a Fourth of July fireworks celebration.
That love of helping others was something Arletha said Eric learned from her. She added he was full of wisdom and little sayings, frequently talking about purpose, but lately it seemed Eric had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
As well as fixing up cars, she said Eric was starting a business selling everyday items that he bought wholesale, was one class from getting off probation and was working on leaving “those” friends alone.Recent run-ins with the law had been minor, buthe served jail time in the 2000s, according to Dallas County court records.
Eric’s death was a shock to the whole family, Arletha said, something for which they want justice.
“It’s like a dream, a nightmare that I can’t even come up out of,” Arletha said. “At first, I wasn’t sleeping, I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t drinking and one day I had to laugh to myself — he’s probably up there saying ‘Now lady, you get yourself together.’”
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
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