Dallas Sniper Dead After 12 Police Officers Are Injured, Five Dead

UPDATE:

DALLAS (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of police officers in Dallas (all times local):

8:15 a.m.

Mayor Mike Rawlings says a bullet went straight through the leg of one police officer as snipers fatally shot three members of his squad during a protest in downtown Dallas.

Rawlings, who says he spoke to the wounded officer, said Friday that the officer expressed sorrow at his loss and that he felt “people don’t understand the danger of dealing with a protest.”

The mayor says it’s important to uphold the right of people to protest, but that more care needs to be taken to ensure the safety of police officers at such events.

Snipers shot and killed five police officers and wounded seven more at the demonstration Thursday evening to protest the police killing of black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and St. Paul, Minnesota. Two civilians were also injured.

___

8:10 a.m.

Police Chief David Brown says authorities are still not certain that they have identified everyone involved in an attack on a downtown protest march that killed five police officers.

Brown said Friday that investigators have not ruled out that others may have been involved in the attacks that left a total of 12 officers and two civilians shot.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says an overnight standoff with one suspect in a parking garage ended when police detonated an explosive about four hours after the attack began. Authorities say the explosive was attached to a robot to protect officers.

Brown would not reveal any details about other potential suspects that have been detained by police and interviewed.

___

7:55

Police Chief David Brown says a suspect in the overnight attack that killed five police officers, wounded seven others and wounded two civilians said he was upset over the recent police shootings of black men and wanted to kill white people.

Brown said at a news conference Friday that the suspect made the comments before he was killed by an explosive used by police.

He says his department and their families are grieving and that the divisiveness between police and the public must stop.

Authorities say snipers opened fire on police officers during a peaceful protest in downtown Dallas Thursday night over the recent fatal shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Authorities say three other suspects were arrested.

___

7:25 a.m.

A man wrongly identified by Dallas police as a suspect in a sniper attack on police says he turned himself in and was quickly released.

The Dallas Police Department put out a photo on its Twitter account late Thursday of a man wearing a camouflage shirt and holding a rifle with the message: “This is one of our suspects. Please help us find him!” The tweet remained on the account early Friday morning.

The man in the photo, Mark Hughes, tells Dallas TV station KTVT that he “flagged down a police officer” immediately after finding out he was a suspect. He says police lied during a 30-minute interrogation, telling him they had video of him shooting.

Videos posted online show Hughes walking around peacefully during the shooting and later turning over his gun to a police officer.

___

7:15 a.m.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit officials say three DART police officers wounded by snipers during a protest are expected to recover.

Thursday night’s shootings left four Dallas police officers and one DART officer dead, plus seven other officers wounded. The demonstration was to protest two fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier this week.

A DART statement Friday identified the agency’s three wounded personnel as 44-year-old Officer Omar Cannon, 32-year-old Officer Misty McBride and 39-year-old Officer Jesus Retana. DART spokesman Morgan Lyons did not release details of the injuries, but said all three should recover.

Officer Brent Thompson was the first DART officer killed in the line of duty since the transit agency formed a police department in 1989. Thompson was 43 and had worked as a DART officer since 2009.

___

7:05 a.m.

Mayor Mike Rawlings says a total of 12 police officers and two civilians were shot during a protest march in downtown Dallas.

Rawlings said Friday that he does not believe that any of the wounded victims have life-threatening injuries.

He says five officers were killed and seven more were injured when snipers opened fire during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men.

—

DALLAS (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of police officers in Dallas (all times local):

6:40 a.m.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says the suspect involved in an overnight standoff with police died after officers used explosives to “blast him out.”

Rawlings said Friday that he was not sure how the suspect died or what weapons were found on him.

He says police have swept the area where the standoff took place and found no explosives.

Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas Thursday evening, killing five officers and injuring six others during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men.

___

6 a.m.

People gathered in small groups on Dallas’ tense, police-filled streets before dawn early Friday struggled to fathom the still-unsettled situation.

Resident Jalisa Jackson says: “I think the biggest thing that we’ve had something like this is when JFK died,” evoking the November 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy on the city’s streets. She calls it “surreal.”

Police said at least four suspects were involved in the killings of five police officers just hours before. The suspects were not immediately identified.

Downtown, officers crouched beside vehicles, SWAT team armored vehicles arrived and a helicopter hovered overhead.

Eleven Dallas officers were shot Thursday night during a peaceful protest over this week’s fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota in what the city’s police chief characterized as a sniper attack.

___

5:45 a.m.

Dallas police say no explosives have been found in extensive sweeps of downtown areas following the fatal shooting of five police officers and the wounding of six others by snipers.

Security was tight Friday morning with numerous streets closed to vehicle traffic in the main downtown Dallas business district hours after Thursday night’s attacks.

The gunfire happened during protests over this week’s fatal police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota of two black men. Police have detained at least three people in the investigation of the Dallas shootings.

Police said a fourth suspect was engaged in a standoff with authorities and had made threats about bombs.

Maj. Max Geron (GAYR’-uhn) tweeted before dawn Friday that primary and secondary sweeps for explosives were complete and no explosives were found.

The gunfire claimed the lives of four Dallas police officers and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer. DART serves Dallas and a dozen other North Texas cities. The transit agency operates buses and the state’s largest municipal rail system.

___

5:20 a.m.

A memorial group says the slaying of five police officers in Dallas in an attack blamed on snipers was the deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Four Dallas police officers and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer were fatally shot Thursday night. The gunfire happened during protests over this week’s fatal police shootings of two black men, in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Six other officers were wounded in the Dallas attacks.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which monitors the deaths of officers, reports 72 officers were killed as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. The group labels that attack as the deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history.

—

DALLAS (AP) — 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.

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.”

President Barack Obama said America is “horrified” over the shootings and there’s no possible justification for the attacks.

Speaking from Warsaw, Poland, where he’s meeting with leaders of the European Union and attending a NATO summit, the president said justice will be done and he’s asking all Americans to pray for the fallen officers and their families. He also said the nation should express its gratitude to those serving in law enforcement.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

—

DALLAS (AP) — At least two snipers opened fire on police officers during protests in Dallas on Thursday night, killing four officers and injuring seven others, police said.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown told reporters the snipers fired “ambush style” upon the officers. He said police had a suspect cornered and were negotiating with him. Brown said 11 officers were shot, three of them fatally. Police later tweeted that a fourth officer had died.

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.

The protesters had gathered after a Minnesota officer on Wednesday fatally shot Philando Castile while he was in a car with a woman and a child in a St. Paul suburb. The aftermath of the shooting was purportedly 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 scene showed that 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.

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.

The search for the gunman stretched throughout downtown, an area of hotels, restaurants, businesses and some residential apartments. 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.”

The gunshots in Dallas came amid protests nationwide over the recent police shootings.

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!”

A group of protesters then left the park and began marching up Fifth Avenue blocking traffic during the height of rush hour as police scrambled to keep up. Another group headed through Herald Square and Times Square where several arrests were reported.

___

Associated Press writer Ezra Kaplan in New York contributed to this report

ORIGINAL BREAKING NEWS REPORT:

DALLAS (AP) — The Latest on protests in response to fatal police shootings (all times local):

10:45 p.m.

The latest: Dallas police say a fourth officer has died, sniper still being sought https://t.co/o33076BuTX pic.twitter.com/ylzjaR5S86

— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) July 8, 2016

Dallas police chief says it appears two snipers shot 10 police officers during protests, and four of the officers are dead.

Dallas police chief David O. Brown said in a statement that three of the officers who were injured are in critical condition Thursday night.

The officers were shot during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings.

OFFICIAL: Dallas PD Chief: At least 10 officers shot by two snipers from elevated positions; 3 officers killed pic.twitter.com/Pm7Pq8kPWi

— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) July 8, 2016

10:30 p.m.

Police say one rapid-transit officer has been killed and three injured when gunfire erupted during a protest in downtown Dallas.

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit issued the news via its official Twitter account. The agency said the three injured officers were expected to survive. No identifications were released.

___

10:15 p.m.

Police in Dallas say they’re trying to sort through what happened when gunshots rang out during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings.

The police statement comes as multiple media outlets report that two officers were shot. There has been no official confirmation of that.

Dallas Police Sr. Corporal Debra Webb said in the statement that police were sorting through information at what was “clearly still an active scene.”

The gunfire broke out around 8:45 p.m. Thursday. Live TV video showed protesters marching along a street in downtown when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.

___

9 p.m.

Multiple media outlets report shots have been fired at a Dallas protest over two recent fatal police shootings.

The gunfire broke out around 8:45 p.m. Thursday. Live TV video showed protesters marching along a street in downtown when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover. There was no immediate word on whether anyone had been injured.