Dallas Shooting: 10 Officers Shot, Three Dead

[Webster]

Tragic, tragic news coming out of Dallas tonight...

(Sky News) Three police officers have been shot dead by what appears to be two snipers at a protest in Dallas, Texas, police say.

The gunshots were heard at Belo Garden Park around 8.45pm local time.

TV showed protesters scrambling for cover and police officers crouching behind parked cars. Some were running into a parking garage with guns drawn.

Two other police officers are in surgery and three are in critical condition. Police are still searching for suspects and nobody is in custody at this time.

The gunfire came amid protests across the US over recent police shootings.

On Tuesday, music vendor Alton Sterling was shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after being held down by police officers.

The following day, Philando Castile was in a car with his girlfriend and child when he was shot by an officer in Minnesota.

Both shootings were captured on mobile phones and the footage widely shared.

In New York on Thursday night, protesters gathered in Union Square Park, chanting before they moved on to Fifth Avenue, blocking traffic as police struggled to keep up with them.

Other groups headed through Herald Square and Times Square, where several people were reported to have been arrested.

Meanwhile, the police officer allegedly involved in the shooting of Mr Castile has been identified as Jeronimo Yanez.

Mr Yanez was with his colleague Joseph Kauser, both of whom had worked for the St Anthony Police Department for four years.

 

[Webster]

NBC News also reporting roughly the same thing as well....
--- --- ---
(NBC News) Ten Dallas law enforcement officers were shot, three fatally, by what is believed to be two snipers who opened fire during a protest downtown against police shootings of black men, the Dallas police chief said.

"Tonight it appears that two snipers shot ten police officers from elevated positions during the protest/rally," Dallas police Chief David Grown said in a statement.

"Three officers are deceased, two are in surgery and three are in critical condition. An intensive search for suspects is currently underway."

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers tonight," Brown said.

The shooting occurred at around 9 p.m. (10 p.m. ET) as a rally and march downtown was ending, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported.

A large number of law-enforcement vehicles and personnel could be seen at the scene. The demonstration and march was ending at the time.

A person at the protest said they were "making our second lap" when gunfire erupted.

"We heard shots, we smelled gunpowder, and that's when everything got really intense and surreal," the witness told MSNBC. "We just started to run and grab kids," he said.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit suspended bus and rail service downtown "due to criminal activity," DART said in a Twitter message.

Several hundred people had gathered at park and march Thursday in reaction to the police shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge Tuesday and Philando Castile in a St. Paul suburb.

The demonstration in Dallas was one of several held in cities across the county Thursday.
-Read more: 10 Dallas Officers Shot, 3 Dead in Shooting as Protest Ended

 

[Webster]

....correction: make that 11 officers have been shot in Dallas; MSNBC just reporting that an 11th officer has been shot in what, for lack of a better word, can almost be described as a targeted shooting of law enforcement tonight in the city of Dallas....

 

[Webster]

Google News real-time live feed
Wikipedia: 2016 Dallas Police Shooting

 

[Webster]

--This is one of our suspects. Please help us find him! (Dallas Police Dept., 7 July 2016)

 

[Webster]

Daily Mail: 11 Officers Shot, 3 Dead

Two snipers have shot 11 police officers - killing three - and may have planted a bomb in downtown Dallas. The two gunmen opened fire from 'elevated positions', picking off officers as they manned a protest over the deaths of two black men, police chief David Brown said.

Police did not reveal where they believe the bomb is but have cordoned off most of downtown Dallas as they hunt down the two shooters, who are still on the run.

Dallas Police released an image of a man brandishing a rifle as he walked through the city carrying an assault rifle and wearing a camouflage shirt. The force tweeted: 'Please help us find him!'

Three cops have died, three are in a critical condition and five others were injured, with two of the officers in surgery. One of the police officers was shot in the back.

Both shooters are still on the run and one - wearing tactical gear and a bulletproof vest - and one was hunkered down in a garage earlier on Thursday evening, a police source told Fox 4.

The shooting started at 8.45pm as hundreds of protesters marched through Dallas demanding justice for two black men shot dead by police earlier this week.

Horrifying footage shows protesters chanting 'hands up, don't shoot' before suddenly scattering as shots are fired near Belo Garden Park.

Another video captures semi-automatic gunfire ringing out, with dozens of shots heard as people scream and run for cover. It is not known if the shooters were protesters.

-Read more: Two snipers shoot ten Dallas police officers - killing at least three

 

[Webster]

....multiple news reports now reporting that a 4th officer has died in Dallas tonight; other reports are coming in that the shooters have not been caught yet....

 

[Webster]

...Dallas PD confirming the above news report....

--With heavy hearts, we are devastated to report a fourth officer has been killed. Dallas Police Dept., 8 July 2016)

 

[Webster]

--DPD confirms 4th officer has been killed. 11 total shot by snipers in downtown #Dallas. KHOU Houston, Tx. - 8 July 2016)

 

[Webster]

...according to news reports, the Dallas PD was in error earlier; multiple eyewitnesses reporting that the person of interest pictured had surrendered his weapon to police at the protest site prior to the first shots being fired....

 

[Webster]

...passing the 1am hour here on the East Coast, updating the situation in Dallas...
-During an otherwise peaceful protest in Dallas over the recent spate of officer-involved shootings (specifically the ones in Baton Rouge & St. Paul), shots began to ring out in the downtown Dallas area
-11 officers were shot by what authorities are saying were 2 snipers from positions of high cover; 4 officers - 3 Dallas PD officers and a Dallas Transit officer - were killed, the other 7 wounded
-Earlier reports showed a possible suspect; news reports are now that that individual turned his long weapon in to police at the protest site before the first shots began to ring out
-At this moment, most of the downtown district in Dallas is still under lockdown; local, state and federal authorities are attempting to find and contain the snipers in question

 

[Webster]

...conflicting reports still coming in from Dallas; some reports are that the snipers have not been found, others are that one of the snipers has been caught....

 

[Webster]

Fox News: At Least Four Police Officers Killed By Snipers During Dallas Protest, Says Chief

DEVELOPING: At least four Dallas police officers were killed Thursday night — “some shot in the back” — when two snipers perched in a nearby downtown parking garage opened fire during a protest over police shootings of African-Americans

Late Thursday, Dallas Police confirmed that one suspect had been taken into custody after a shootout with SWAT members. A suspicious package discovered near the suspect's location was being secured by bomb squad members.

Another man whose picture had been circulated by authorities as a "person of interest" had turned himself in, though his relationship to the shooting was not clear.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown confirmed the four fatalities — three Dallas officers and one transit officer — and said seven other officers and one civilian were wounded in the shooting. Three of the injured officers reportedly were in critical condition and two others were in surgery.

Dallas' public transit agency, DART, confirmed on Twitter that one of its officers was shot and killed, while three of its officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Brown said the shooters positioned themselves in two parking garages in downtown Dallas and "planned to kill as many law enforcement officers as they could."

Fox4 cameras captured protesters running away from the scene of the shooting shortly before 9 p.m. local time. A cameraman approached the scene and captured officers apparently lying on the ground.

A Dallas police source estimated to Fox News that at least 60 rounds were fired over a "large kill zone." The source added that the shooting would have required considerable planning.

Aerial images showed officers appearing to focus their search on a nearby parking garage, which may have served as the snipers’ perch.
Witness Carlos Harris told the Dallas Morning News the gunfire was "strategic. It was tap-tap-pause. Tap-tap-pause."

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 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.

Michael Bautista told KDFW the protest march had been "very peaceful" before the shooting started.

Brittany Peete, a demonstrator, told the Associated Press she didn't hear the gunshots, but she "saw people rushing back toward me saying there was an active shooter." Peete said she saw a woman trip and nearly get trampled as people ran to get to safety.

"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."

 

[Dee]

Ugh. This is absolutely terrible and tragic news. My condolences for the officers who died and the families that now have to live with that. I worry every day that my baby brother will be injured or killed as he is a police officer, too. I can only imagine how devastating it would be to lose him or anyone just doing their job.

 

[Webster]

....following a police briefing in Dallas that begun a few minutes ago (CNN)....
--Police units are currently in a gunfight w/a suspect in a downtown garage; the suspect has told police that there are multiple IEDs' in both the garage and in the downtown district of Dallas
--Police have detained several individuals who - and it should be emphasized here - may or may not be involved in this; one or two were detained on an I-35 interchange; two were detained in the Oak Cliff community of Dallas
--Authorites confirm 11 police officers were shot; 4 officers have died - 3 Dallas PD officers and 1 Dallas Transit officer

 

[Webster]

Ugh. This is absolutely terrible and tragic news. My condolences for the officers who died and the families that now have to live with that. I worry every day that my baby brother will be injured or killed as he is a police officer, too. I can only imagine how devastating it would be to lose him or anyone just doing their job.

Seconded, @Dee ...what really gets everyone here, I think, is that this took place in the midst of a peaceful protest.

For all intents and purposes, this was a targeted shooting; that all-but-screams terrorism...

 

[DaveM]

This was on Sky News when I turned on the TV first thing the morning, very sad all round.

 

[April]

Been watching the breaking news report of this for the last 3 hours and it is just so damn sad. I can't even imagine what was going through those sick and twisted snipers' minds, this is going to solve NOTHING at all. I'm so fed up with this type of thing happening. Seriously, stop murdering these brave people who work every day to protect us!

A longtime friend of mine is a Dallas police officer as well and I'm still waiting to hear back from him to see if he's okay. I know if he is okay, he's probably just busy as it's still pretty chaotic there, but it's going to be a long night until I hear back from him.

 

[Webster]

This was on Sky News when I turned on the TV first thing the morning, very sad all round.

I first heard the news on the BBC World Service via NPR this evening; at the time, they said 1 officer was injured....when I woke up an hour or so later, the news report had 3 officers killed, 10 injured

 

[Webster]

ABC News: Dallas Police Chief - 4 Officers Killed, 7 Injured In Ambush-Style Shooting

At least two snipers opened fire on police officers in Dallas on Thursday night, killing four officers and injuring seven others during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men, police said.

Dallas Police Chief David 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.

Police later said in a statement that a suspect was is in custody and a "person of interest" had surrendered. They said a suspicious package was being secured by a bomb squad.

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 protests in Dallas were among several across the country that were held 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 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.

Brown said that it appeared the shooters "planned to injure and kill as many officers as they could."

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 shooters 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."

Demonstrator Brittaney Peete told The Associated Press that she didn't hear the gunshots, but she "saw people rushing back toward me saying there was an active shooter."

Peete said she saw a woman trip and nearly get trampled.

Late Thursday, Dallas police in uniform and in plainclothes were standing behind a police line at the entrance to the emergency room at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas. It was unclear how many injured officers were taken there. The hospital spokeswoman, Julie Smith, had no immediate comment.

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.