Three Dallas police officers and one DART transit official have been declared dead after being shot by two snipers during a Black Lives Matter protest over the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, who in turn were both killed by members of law enforcement earlier this week.
A total of 11 police officers were shot during the protest, with one suspect taken into custody after the shootings occurred.
The Dallas Police Department released a number of statements regarding the shootings, updating as new information came in regarding the death toll and the whereabouts of suspects, one of whom is still at large. Neither have officially declared that they are affiliated with a political and/or activist group.
“We believe that these suspects were positioning themselves to triangulate on our officers and planned to injure and kill as many law enforcement officers as they could,” said Dallas Police Chief David Brown in an official statement.
Update (July 8, 9:45 a.m.): At least five police officers were killed in the shooting, and seven others were wounded.
Friday morning, the Dallas police chief said one of the shooters admitted “he was upset about the recent police shootings” and “wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.”
In a statement, President Barack Obama called the shooting a “vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement.”
“We are horrified over these events and we stand united with the people and the Police Department in Dallas,” he said. “There’s no possible justification for these kinds of attacks, or any violence against law enforcement.”
Update (July 8, 10:50 a.m.): The shooter killed last night by the police has been identified Micah Johnson, 25, from the Dallas area.
City officials also confirmed that Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer, Brent Thompson, 43, was killed during Thursday night’s shootings.
Image via AP.