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Snipers kill five police officers in Dallas
Snipers operating from rooftops in Dallas killed five police officers and wounded six more in a coordinated attack during one of several protests across the country against the killing of two black men by police this week.
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Police described Thursday night’s ambush as carefully planned and executed and had taken three people into custody before a fourth died from what Dallas-based media said was a self-inflicted gunshot after a standoff that extended into today morning.
The fourth suspect had exchanged gunfire with police during the standoff at a downtown garage and warned of placing bombs throughout the city. Police have yet to confirm his death. The attack was one of the worst mass shootings of police in US history.
White House officials have spoken with Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings about the shooting that turned the downtown of one of the largest US cities into a sprawling crime scene, unfolding along streets that house major corporations, restaurants and government offices. US President Barack Obama, visiting Poland for a summit of the NATO defence alliance, was briefed on the shooting of police officers in Dallas.
No specific motive has been given for the shootings at the downtown protest, one of many held in major cities across the United States yesterday. New York police made more than a dozen arrests, while protesters briefly shut down one of Chicago’s main arteries.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the shooters, some in elevated positions, used sniper rifles to fire at the officers in what appeared to be a coordinated attack.” They were working together with rifles, triangulating at elevated positions in different points in the downtown area where the march ended up going,” Brown told a news conference, adding a civilian was also wounded.” It has been a devastating night. We are sad to report a fifth officer has died,” Dallas police said.
“Worst Nightmare”:
Mayor Rawlings advised people to stay away on Friday as police combed the area where large areas have been cordoned off and transport halted. Authorities also halted commercial air traffic for the area as police helicopters hovered over the scene.” Our worst nightmare has happened,” the mayor said. “It is a heartbreaking moment for the city of Dallas.” The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area is one of the nation’s most populous and is home to more than 7 million people. The suspect in the Texas standoff had told police “the end is coming” and that more police were going to be hurt and killed. Brown said the suspect also told police “there are bombs all over the place in this garage and downtown.”
Obama extends condolences to Dallas
President Barack Obama said he had spoken with Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to extend his condolences and offer support after snipers killed five police officers and wounded six more in a coordinated attack in the city. Obama said the federal government would provide the city with any assistance it may need as it deals with this “tremendous tragedy.” “We still don’t know all the facts, what we do know is there has been a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement,” Obama after a meeting with European Union leaders ahead of a NATO summit in Poland. “We know when people are armed with powerful weapons unfortunately it makes attacks like these more deadly and more tragic. We are going to have to consider those realities as well.” Obama’s team is keeping him updated on the investigation
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
The use of force by police against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York has sparked periodic and sometimes violent protests in the past two years and has spawned the Black Lives Matter movement.
- On Tuesday this week, a black father of five, 37-year-old Alton Sterling, was pinned to the ground and shot several times at point blank range in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, prompting the launch of a federal civil rights probe.
- Anger has intensified when officers involved in such incidents have been acquitted in trials or not charged at all. The shooting happened as otherwise largely peaceful protests unfolded around the US after the shooting of Philando Castile, 32, by police near St. Paul, Minnesota, late on Wednesday.
- Castile’s girlfriend posted live video on the internet of the bloody scene minutes afterward, which was widely viewed. Shocked family members demanded justice for Castile, a school cafeteria worker, whose mother described him as a law-abiding citizen who kept out of trouble.
- America’s debate on police use of lethal force, especially against young black men, was set to hit fever pitch as a fourth officer went on trial Thursday in one of the highest-profile such cases of recent years.
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