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Peaceful Protest Disrupted as Terrorist Ambushes Dallas Police, Killing Five
In the wake of the two high-profile police killings of black men Alton Sterling and Philano Castile, an organized protest of police killings on Thursday night was held in downtown Dallas. Demonstrators marched in the streets as nearly 100 police officers walked beside them as protection. At one point, police even posed with protestors as the event was organized and calm.
But at approximately 9:45 p.m. gunfire sounded and chaos erupted as several snipers opened fire on police officers from what authorities describe as elevated positions. In the hail of bullets and the resulting standoff with the gunmen, five police officers were killed and seven more were injured. Two civilians were injured.
Demonstration in #Dallas @ Belo Garden Park pic.twitter.com/IUx5IaERSB
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) July 8, 2016
According to Dallas police, three suspects are now in custody – two men and one woman. After an hours-long standoff with police at the El Centro parking garage, another suspect was killed by an explosive attached to a police robot, ABC news reported.
According to ABC, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the gunman at the parking garage told a hostage negotiator he “wanted to kill [police] officers” and “expressed anger for Black Lives Matter.”
RAW VIDEO: Our cameras captured the panic after the first shots were fired in downtown #Dallas Thursday nighthttps://t.co/JXcapjFIHv
— WFAA-TV (@wfaachannel8) July 8, 2016
Brown added:
“We’re hurting. Our profession is hurting. Dallas officers are hurting. We are heartbroken. There are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city.”
President Obama addressed the shootings while in Warsaw, Poland.
“There is no possible justification for these kinds of attacks or any violence against law enforcement.”
Obama added, “We still don’t know all the facts. What we do know is that there has been a vicious, calculated, and despicable attack on law enforcement.”
Watch @POTUS's statement on last night's attack on law enforcement in Dallas, Texas. https://t.co/lqd4OaofxM
— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) July 8, 2016
As news of the events began to spread, thousands took to social media to express their outrage and sadness at the killings.
But wherever there is darkness, there is also light. Such as the story of Shetamia Taylor, 37, who was one of the two civilians injured in the attack and is being hailed for her heroism by shielding one of her four sons from bullets.
“She’s not so much worried about the gunshot wound she has on her leg,” Theresa Williams, Taylor’s sister, told to WFAA. “We’re watching the news in the hospital room, and all she can do is say, ‘Lord, be with those families of those police officers.’ And that’s what she kept repeating.”