HOUSTON, July 8:
Snipers today shot dead five police officers and injured seven others in “ambush style” firing in the US city of Dallas during a demonstration against the fatal police shootings of black men this week, making it one of the deadliest attack on law enforcers in the country.
On of the suspects was killed in a shootout with police with the help of a bomb robot.
The shooting began near one of the busiest parts of the city’s downtown, filled with hotels and restaurants. Dallas Police chief David Brown told reporters that two snipers fired “ambush style” from an elevated position late last night.
The shootings, which police described as a “terrorist incident”, sent hundreds of people fleeing through the streets in panic.
Brown said officers cornered one of the suspects and tried to negotiate with him for several hours before talks broke down. After an exchange of gunfire, officers attached explosives to a bomb robot and detonated them near the suspect.
Brown said the suspect told negotiators that he was upset about recent shootings involving police officers.
“The suspect said he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers,” Brown said.
The suspect also told police that he was working alone.
“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. All I know is that this must stop – this divisiveness between our police and our citizens,” Brown said.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said police have swept the area where the standoff took place and found no explosives.
Police said earlier three other suspects were in custody in connection with the shooting, though Brown said they were still investigating.
“I’m not going to be satisfied until we turn over every stone,” he said. “If there’s someone out associated with this, we will find him.”
According to the police chief, the suspects have threatened to have placed a bomb in the downtown area and that his department was coordinating with federal agencies.
Six police officers and a civilian were injured in the attack.
As the tragic shooting incident continued to unfold, US President Barack Obama was briefed about the incident, according to the White House.
Obama, who is in Warsaw for the NATO Summit, denounced the “despicable” attacks in Dallas.
“There has been a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement,” Obama said, adding that the officers were “targeted” by multiple suspects.
“We are horrified over these events,” he said, “and we stand united with the people and the Police Department in Dallas.”
Earlier, upon his arrival in the Polish capital, he said that the fatal shootings of black men by police this week in Louisiana and Minnesota were “symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities” and all Americans should be troubled by these incidents of brutality.
“All of us as Americans should be troubled by these shootings, because these are not isolated incidents. They’re symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system,” Obama said.
Citing statistics that showed black people were far more likely to be arrested and shot by police, Obama said African- Americans are 30 per cent more likely than whites to be pulled over.
It was the deadliest single attack on law enforcement since the 2001 terror attacks, when 72 officers died, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. (PTI)
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