DALLAS – A total of 11 officers and one civilian were shot on Thursday night at a Dallas rally, and five officers have died, according Dallas Police. Four of the deceased officers were from the Dallas Police Department, and one was from DART, the local transit system.
Three people are in custody and a fourth suspect has died after exchanging gunfire with police.
Dallas police attempted negotiations with the last known suspect during an hours-long standoff. The suspect was holed up inside a downtown Dallas parking garage, where he eventually succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“The suspect has told our negotiators that the end is coming,” Dallas Police Chief David Brown said during a 12:30 a.m. press conference. The suspect told officers that he is going to hurt and kill a lot of them, and said he’s placed bombs in downtown Dallas, Brown said.
An initial person of interest who police released a photo of was determined to not have been involved and has been released from custody.
A suspicious package was found near a suspect involved in the earlier shootout. Officers swept the downtown area for any possible explosives.
At least two snipers shot the officers from an elevated position.
The rally where the shooting occurred took place after two black men–Philando Castile and Alton Sterling–were shot and killed by police this week. Castile was reaching for his wallet after being pulled over for a broken tail light, while Sterling was shot while pinned down by police after a 911 call alleged he had been brandishing a gun at a corner shop.
Protesters and police alike took cover when shots rang out.
“The shots were coming from the roof,” one protester told the station. Witnesses reported hearing dozens of gunshots that scattered the crowd. That protester said that officers and bystanders alike were in the line of fire.
“Everybody was fair game,” the man said. “They were just shooting randomly.”
The shooting occurred about half a mile from where John F. Kennedy was assassinated in a similar sniper-style shooting.
Here are images and video from the Dallas Police Department’s Twitter account of the peaceful protest that was going on before the shots rang out.
