Five police officers were killed and seven others were wounded in Dallas last night after at least one sniper opened fire at protest downtown. Two civilians were also injured.
Hundreds of people were peacefully protesting the shooting deaths of two black men at the hands of police earlier this week, one in Louisiana and one in Minnesota.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown blamed “snipers,” but it was unclear how many shooters were involved in Thursday’s attack. Authorities initially said three suspects were in custody and a fourth dead, killed by a robot-delivered bomb in a parking garage where he had exchanged fire with officers. Hours later, officials were vague and would not discuss details.
Before dying, the police chief said, the suspect told officers he was upset about recent shootings and wanted to kill whites, “especially white officers.” The man also stated that he acted alone and was not affiliated with any groups, Brown said.
Law enforcement officials did not immediately disclose the race of the suspect or the dead officers.
Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson gets the latest from KERA reporter Christopher Connelly.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article.
Guest
Christopher Connelly, reporter for KERA in Dallas. He tweets @hithisischris.
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