Snipers shot and killed four police officers “ambush-style” after a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas Thursday night, according to Dallas police. At least seven other police officers and one civilian were also shot and injured
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said in a statement that two snipers had shot “from elevated positions.”
Police later added that one suspect had been taken into custody following a shootout with Dallas SWAT officers, and the bomb squad was securing a “suspicious package” found near him.
A “person of interest” whose photo DPD had circulated earlier in the night turned himself in, the department said.
All signs pointed to the demonstration having been peaceful throughout the evening. The DPD Twitter account included posts about “men, women, boys and girls” gathered in solidarity, while other photos show officers posing with marchers, including a state senator.
“Let’s all come together and support our police officers,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said in a press conference. “I’ve never been as proud [of our officers]. I believe we’ve got one of the beset forces in the nation, and we’ve done things with civil rights in the right way, and we’ve done it for the safety of our citizens.”
Dramatic video of the shooting shows dozens of officers converging on several buildings in downtown Dallas, including a parking garage. In another, several shots can be heard ringing out as sirens blare in the background.
Rev. Jeff Hood, an organizer of the rally, told the Dallas Morning News he was at the front of the protest with an officer before he heard “what sounded like six to eight shots.”
“I saw people scramble,” Hood said. “The officer ran towards the shots, I ran away from the shots trying to get people off the streets, and I was grabbing myself to see if I was shot.”
Earlier Thursday, hundreds gathered in cities across the country to protest the recent police shootings of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old killed outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile, who was shot during a traffic stop in Minnesota.
Demonstrators were carrying signs and chanting “no justice no peace” and “hands up, don’t shoot” ― common refrains of the Black Lives Matter movement.
source: huffingtonpost.com by Nick Visser
The Fat Cat Collective 