Americans are waking up to news of another deadly shooting, this one comes as a reaction to the recent police-involved shootings in which two black men were killed.
On Thursday, protesters took to the streets of Dallas as residents reacted to the news of the deaths this week. The protests were relatively peaceful but that all changed when a sniper shot 12 police officers from elevated positions during the rally.
Five officers have been killed, two civilians injured, seven officers wounded and the sniper killed in an explosion.
“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,” said Police Chief David Brown. “This divisiveness must stop, between our police and citizens.”
According to Chief Brown, the suspect involved in the shooting was cornered and negotiators spoke with him for several hours. There was a breakdown in negotiations and an exchange of gunfire with the suspect. A bomb robot was called in and detonated at the suspect’s location.
“Other options would have put our officers in great danger. The suspect is deceased as a result of detonating the bomb,” explained the police chief in a media conference. “Our hostage negotiator did an exceptional job getting this suspect to talk before he died.”
The chief confirmed that the shooting took place because the suspect was upset about the recent police shootings and black lives matter.
Canadians are shocked by the cowardly attacks against police in Dallas. Our solidarity is with all victims of violence on this tragic week.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) July 8, 2016
“The suspect was upset at white people, and he wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers. He stated he was not affiliated with any groups and he did this alone.”
The suspect’s name has not yet been released as the investigation is ongoing and police believe other suspects may have been involved. A photo of a person of interest was released by police, but the chief confirms that he was not the suspect killed.
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