One month after a tornado tore through Northwest Dallas, property and business owners say looting remains an ever-present problem.
"We had someone literally just back up to the back of the unit, fill his pickup like it was Christmas shopping and take off," business owner Nick Kiernan said.
Kiernan is among dozens of tenants at a complex on Shady Trail that was hard hit by the tornado. Its owner, Randall Colling, said thieves have stolen tens of thousands of dollars worth of property since the tornado.
"Their tools are gone, it's their livelihood, it's just terrible," Colling said.
Colling boarded up and locked doors and even purchased a fence to put around the property, but the looting continued.
"This was screwed shut and as you can tell, it's open, so they have been back," he said, opening a door apparently recently entered by thieves.
In the first couple weeks following the tornado, Colling said the Dallas Police Department had a visible presence, but lately it has fallen off.
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"We probably need a little more police presence that would be the best way to solve (the looting)," Colling said.
The Dallas County District Attorney's Office announced earlier this month that it would seek enhanced penalties for anyone caught looting in tornado-ravaged areas of the county.
NBC 5 reached out to the Dallas Police Department with questions about looting and the frequency of patrols in the area hit by the October Tornado, but did not receive a reply Wednesday afternoon.
