Much of downtown Dallas is still closed off and considered a crime scene. A cluster of cars is stuck in place, unmoved from Thursday night, and the roped-off streets are eerily empty.

At the start of a new work week on Monday, NBC 5 spoke with people who live and work downtown, now trying to cope with what happened so close to familiar places.

In downtown Dallas, everyone has somewhere to be, following a straight line from home to work and back. But now that’s all changing. Crime scene tape, in crisscrossing yellow lines, is rerouting traffic and people’s lives.

“I feel different. I don’t feel as safe I think,” said one downtown visitor.

For many, this was the first day back to work after horror of July 7.

“Squad cars, ambulances, fire trucks all speeding down Jackson,” Dana O’Connell said, remembering the chaotic view out her apartment window Thursday night.

Walking in to her job on Monday, O’Connell wanted to shake the hand of every officer she saw.

Their watch continues, posted at all the roped-off intersections. One group stopped to bring them cold drinks, others paused to take in their pain.

“It saddens me,” one woman said. “I feel like it’s just a shame that our downtown of our big city has to go through this.”

“I don’t know what to tell my kids,” another visitor said. She took the train in from DeSoto with her three kids, aged 13 and under. “We visit the museums, the local restaurants."

But on Monday, there was a change in the landscape, begging questions of safety and more.

“It’s the big race question. As you can tell my kids are mixed. They’re asking, they’re kind of fearful, can they still go to the police? Or should they keep to themselves and me having a son of mixed decent, it’s a big issue for us,” she said.

Looming questions for folks trying to separate a crime scene from their doorstep.

“A lot of people actually asked me 'are you going to move now,' and I said absolutely not,” said West End resident Sammy Ghosh. “I’m going to support my community. I’m going to stay right here because this is my home.”

And no matter how many turns it takes, the line home never breaks.

It’s a roughly five-by-five block square that’s still closed off downtown. Police are not rushing anything in their investigation and will only say the streets will be closed “another day or two.”