Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas, killing five officers and injuring six others during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men, police said, in a week that bore dark echoes of the tumultuous civil rights era.
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Three people are in custody and a fourth suspect was exchanging gunfire with authorities in a parking garage downtown, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said early Friday morning.
The suspect is not cooperating and has told negotiators he intends to hurt more law enforcement officials, the chief said.
The gunfire broke out around 8:45 p.m. Thursday while hundreds of people were gathered to protest fatal police shootings this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. Brown told reporters the snipers fired “ambush style” upon the officers. Mayor Mike Rawlings said one member of the public was wounded in the gunfire.
Protests were also held in several other cities across the country Thursday night after a Minnesota officer on Wednesday fatally shot Philando Castile while he was in a car with a woman and a child. The aftermath of the shooting was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video. A day earlier, Alton Sterling was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers. That, too, was captured on a cellphone video.
Video footage from the Dallas scene showed protesters were marching along a street in downtown, about half a mile from City Hall, when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.
Brown said that it appeared the shooters “planned to injure and kill as many officers as they could.”
The search for the shooters stretched throughout downtown, an area of hotels, restaurants, businesses and some residential apartments. The area is only a few blocks away from Dealey Plaza, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Some of the injured officers were taken to Parkland Hospital.
The scene was chaotic, with helicopters hovering overhead and officers with automatic rifles on the street corners.
“Everyone just started running,” Devante Odom, 21, told The Dallas Morning News. “We lost touch with two of our friends just trying to get out of there.”
Carlos Harris, who lives downtown, told the newspaper that the shooters “were strategic. It was tap, tap pause. Tap, tap pause,” he said.
Amateur Video Appears to Show Dallas GunmanPlay videoAmateur Video Appears to Show Dallas Gunman
One woman was taken into custody in the same parking garage where the standoff was ongoing, Brown said. Two others were taken into custody during a traffic stop.
Brown said police don’t have a motivation for the attacks or any information on the suspects. He said they “triangulated” in the downtown area where the protesters were marching and had “some knowledge of the route” they would take.
Video posted on social media appeared to show a gunman at ground level exchanging fire with a police officer who was then felled.
Authorities have not determined whether any protesters were involved with or were complicit in the attack and were not certain early Friday that all suspects have been located, Brown said.
Rawlings said at the news conference that authorities will likely ask some people to stay away from downtown Dallas on Friday.
Raw: Video Shows Protesters Flee Dallas GunfirePlay videoRaw: Video Shows Protesters Flee Dallas Gunfire
“This is still an active crime scene. We’re determining how big that crime scene is,” the mayor said.
A map will be posted online showing an area where people should avoid on Friday, he said.
Early Friday morning, there were dozens of officers of the corridor of the ER at Baylor Medical Center, where other injured officers were taken. The mayor and police chief were seen arriving there.
Four of the officers who were killed were with the Dallas Police Department, a spokesman said. One was a Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer. The agency said in a statement that 43-year-old officer Brent Thompson was the first officer killed in the line of duty since the agency formed a police department in 1989.
“Our hearts are broken,” the statement said.
View galleryA man raises his hands as he walks near a law enforcement …
A man raises his hands as he walks near a law enforcement officer, following the shootings Thursday …
Theresa Williams told The Associated Press that the injured civilian was her sister, 37-year-old Shetamia Taylor.
Williams said her sister was at the protests Thursday night with her four sons, ages 12 to 17.
When the shooting began, Taylor threw herself over her sons, Williams said. She was undergoing surgery early Friday after being shot in the right calf.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement saying he has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety director to offer “whatever assistance the City of Dallas needs at this time.”
“In times like this we must remember — and emphasize — the importance of uniting as Americans,” Abbott said.
Other protests across the U.S. on Thursday were peaceful. In midtown Manhattan, protesters first gathered in Union Square Park where they chanted “The people united, never be divided!” and “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now!” In Minnesota, where Castile was shot, hundreds of protesters marched in the rain from a vigil to the governor’s official residence. Protesters also marched in Atlanta, Chicago and Philadelphia.
GOOD ! Now the playing field leveled . now watch the conversation start being that both parties seeing that we have a BIG problem . so sad it happen but it was needed. all eyes on the problem now
5 dead, 6 injuried. Dallas is on fire. This is the consequence of frustration, people are now seeking justice for themselves; no longer waiting on the “justice” system. I don’t think this is the end either.
You are right, eyes on the problem now. The other side of that coin is how the police Nationwide will react to this. They have been killing us for years, cameras and social media are now highlighting their dirty deeds.
Which may be 5 innocent police killed for the many innocent black men, 5 examples that one group is oppressed, I can live with that
Actually the news is reporting 12 officers were shot and 5’s dead.
As a African I cannot bring my self to have empathy or sympathy…
Freedom isn’t free..
Yes not condoning killings but something haffi get done …look an so how the bigga heads Dem Gwaan pop up now. Dem kill one a wi an we a go teck back plenty a Dem.an eye for an eye.
Which may be 5 innocent police killed for the many innocent black men, 5 examples that one group is oppressed, I can live with that.
Yup, we have to restructure their functions and ours because this is overwhelming. Me tell unno say there will be uprising, there will be more bloodshed but a message is veing sent and received. The animal that they potray us to be is awake, for centuries we have being fighting it is what got us this far.
Wouldn’t it be counterproductive n ironic if Black cops were killed? Where black cops killed smh?
we had a very important instrument at our disposal, we take it for granted, ignore the message of it and resort to ” BUGU-YAGA “, oppress the messengers and bottle and stone them on stage when they try to deliver the message, we bicker and gripe FOR MONETARY REASONS when other people and culture see the importance of it and grasp it more we do, we claim they’re stealing our instrument from us, we ourselves think jamaica is in the stone age when we are actually about 50 years or so in the future(if we had let the instrument be our guide),,,,,,,PROPHECY FULL-FILLING AND WE’RE GONNA LEAVE BOB MARLEY OUT OF THIS ONE!
1.BOB ANDY-fire burning 1975
2.JUNIOR MURVIN-“police & thieves” 1976
3.MAX ROMEO-tribal war inna babylon 1976
4.BIG YOUTH-time will tell 1977
5.LINVAL THOMPSON-babylon are wicked men(ride on) 1976
6.SAMMY DREADLOCKS-roadblock/curfew 1980
could go on and on and the list would never stop, imagine if black America had the instrument we had and threw in the trash bin for “BUGU-YAGA”, imagine they had it as their guide during the post-segregation era till now! ,,,,,,, outcome would have been way different! ,,,,,,,,, food for thought.
3
This is not right…
Black people FED UP, it wouldnt be a suprise if a resistance war start!
Di young man ova brooklyn last year did post on facebook”pigs gonna fly today”then him guh put out 2 light..fraustration mek ppl duh things.morning metty an folks…Dem betta stop it cah anuh dem alone savage
More police skin fi burn good or bad
This is what SHOULD not be happening.There is certainly an agenda,since this has been happening for so long and nothing as been done about it, instead most of the officers who murder blacks are exonerated, some even hailed as heroes by their counterpart. I believe that this is exactly what those who are behind this want, us to retaliate in this manner, a race war if you will, (to be honest, I am not even sure if it is our people who are doing the killings, regardless of who they have in custody, people be wise,think). This allows whatever they have planned to be implemented, (which i am sure involves Laws, and constitutions) or even more blacks being randomly killed to be justifiably put in place. I myself am outraged when i see the murders and brutality of our people,but I look deeper and realize that there is an agenda and they are waiting for this kind of response. I am not being a conspiracy theorist, nor am I paranoid, this is just my opinion. We all have to go into deep prayer for our people, but expect the worse to come, it has not began as yet.Pray!
O MA SE O ….omg me and yuh deh pon de smae damn page I just commented this very same ish on the next thread it is an inside job i strongly believe.
Exactly, and this race warfare needs to come to an abrupt end! We r in the 2000s now man it is time for this shit to stop!
Obara! You wake up early and with words of wisdom as usual :kiss
The mechanism is in play towards the race war American supremacy groups have always wanted since Lincoln and the abolitionists groups did away with black slavery here.
Then the bold movements that created the events and terminology of civil rights. Descendants of slave profiteers saw their ideologues proven incorrect (we were equated as savage beasts) when we showed or intelligence and wits against their systems they created to maintain dominance upon our minds and persons.
The sons (daughters too) of white hate group members joined police forces to maintain control and to eradicate at will….simple plantation overseer/enforcement tactics.
Watch how the conditioned blacks join in song with the instigators (organization and government entities) so the outrage as to be systematic, collective and done strategically with willing participants… rogues only cause the agenda fi get reformulated and fortified in better ways.
A war is brewing and unless we are war ready, we should not push for it.
I agree, Obara!
The video of Philando Castile’s killing, when his daughter was calming her mom right after witnessing his death saying ‘it’s ok, I’m right her with you’ – heart breaking :sorry
That alone is enough to make radical black people act out.
Right now a don’t believe 3 shits wah di news say… Right now a just peer tings dis stawt now they wanted to put ppl in this state of mind. Yes get them prepared for what is to come those killings are nothing.
The devil ruled system time is up from September 15, 2015… It takes time for JAH system to be established, this devil know his time of reign is up and is now in full swing of bitterness… We original Hebrews will arise and that corrupt evil devil system will be no more but it’s gonna be a fight including many wars including a world war three and the exposure of those on top who are directly composing the orders of the devil… You know who they are, they control mainstream media, they control the USA military etc …devil worshippers, they sacrifice children… Their time is up and they are going to face their judgement… SELAH
Trump way of saying its time black people pack their bags and go00! Right now people who are filing for family members are worried about their brothers entering America!
Dem fi tan a dem yard and change systems. Dem left go white people place go advance it then say “oh my”
Rothchilds man the Rothchilds…
I’m so angry that I don’t know what to say.
That’s why isis n al qeada can’t agree.Isis believe in killing innocent n fellow Muslims while al qeada shuns it. Why would it be ok to make sacrificial lambs of innocent cops n innocent civilians?
Listen in my humble opinion you can’t seek n establish justice through injustice n unjust means.nooooooooo I’m not Down with this shyt,theres gotta be a BETTER way!
Oh n another thing,remember Spiderman saying abt with great power comes greater responsibility?? Well I swear to GOD,im Done with Bey,to hell with beyonce!Sharon stone,Drake n other celebrities were being cautious n symphatetic to the cause,Beyonce went out there n riled up a whole bunch of ppl.
I guess she wants to be a revolutionay sooo bad just to feed her ego! I wonder how she now feels with the results of her call for action! Met jayz n Beyonce are twin Demons of the highest orDer!Boycott all things Beyonce!
Yesterday come back today :siul
Messengers and messages can be good and bad…depending on how the intended audience interprets the message.
Dearest PP do u not concur that Beyonce is the Demon in the flesh?? It is a given then that we MUST always consider WHO is telling us WHAT.
PP a skets a look ur man n run carry news that she see him a buy front a back road.Well same way ur sista can tell u she was in the carwith the skets n she never see him,so now it isn’t even a matter of WHAT to believe but WHO!!
There’s a post up abt Demons teking over entertainers as them perform.I see n hear beyonce sey she get possessed by this “spirit” n she nuh know herself,she just giveover to “it”. You can google it,she call this “force”…her alterego “SashaFierce”! She even have an entire album praising the spirit called “I am Sasha fierce”
No sah PP,Cheut,lalibela,,Highly,WickeD n Met the occult is upon us n most ppl doan even know it!
Laws…yu no see me say “yesterday come back today?”
I talking about the jicon post yesterday whey me fling verbal stone after the messenger…I also wrote about how ms.ting public going to respond to her…me is NOT a Beyonce fan by a hair.
I would also like to add. A white person said black people must not forget that there are 13% of blacks in America. Also most Black people have not been to a gun range and most white people have. The bottom line is America is very racist! Police were killing innocent black people from way back. As someone mentioned above we just did not have body camera’s to see the extent of the problem although we did (if that makes sense. Taking advantage of black people and slaughtering them like dogs. Watch out we could be dealing with World War 3!
The reason for the police killings is that people are tired of black people been killed like animals and their killings being treated like it is normal. I think every one including none whites can agree that the killing of innocent unarmed blacks has gone too far and everybody around the world has had enough!
Another point for people to remember Obama is not the president of America. He is just a puppet on the string! If you understand anything about the ‘powers that be’, you would leave the poor man alone. He did not have a clue what he was walking into until he met the real presidents ‘the powers that be’.
Well blacks who can own guns need to flood the classes, go on range and get weapons. If you can’t then figure out how to arm you self legally and “legally” in you quarters (mean it same how it quoted).
I don’t care how much tambarinds and Bible onu own that “blood de blood” ain’t gonna do shit for yo ass when dem pillow case wearing bastards decide to go full ham thinking dey in Germany when Hitler was alive and kicking. Ijs
Absolutely, in this day and age it is something i would have to consider.
How many slaps would you take in the face before you took action?
How many times can you keep running to report the bully to the teacher before you take action for yourself.
You don’t see it was a Chinese cop that killed one of the black men! When you keep taking slaps a next bully will want to have a go too.
Because the Chinese cop saw that black lives are not valued by his white master he decided to AIM to please too. You no see it?
Black Americans have been patient enough and to top it all off we are living in 2016!
Completely agree.