This article contains graphic video that might be triggering for some people.
With thousands of people protesting across the country in the wake of the police shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the scene in Dallas turned frightening Thursday night when multiple shots rang out, causing people to flee and officers to take cover.
Eleven law enforcement officers were shot during an attack carried out by at least one gunman, whom police called a “sniper” due to his elevated firing position during the protest. According to police officials, five officers were killed during the assault. Other wounded officers were undergoing medical treatment at hospitals nearby.
One civilian was also wounded, police said.
At least four of the officers shot work for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), according to the public transit authority, which serves Dallas and 11 surrounding cities. DART officers carry firearms and have the same authority, obligations and duties as other Dallas police officers.
Brent Thompson, 43, was identified by DART officials as one of the officers killed.
At 2:30am CT, nearly six hours after the shooting began, a standoff between police and at least one of the suspects ended. A suspect reportedly told police that bombs had planted “all over” Dallas, vowing: “The end is coming.” According to initial reports, the suspect took his own life.
Parkland Hospital – 3:02 am 7/8/16#Dallas@wfaachannel8 pic.twitter.com/44othBNH1J
— David Goins (@dgoins) July 8, 2016
Police Chief David Brown told reporters after midnight that authorities believe the suspects had coordinated to kill police officers.
“We still do not have a complete comfort level that we have all the suspects,” Brown said. The police chief vowed to continue the search for any potentially remaining suspects.
“At this point, we don’t have a lot of cooperation” from suspects, Brown said. “We are leaving every motive on the table.”
At roughly 11:15pm CT, a police SWAT team was filmed entering a parking garage on the corner of Wood and Griffin St., just south of the Earle Cabell Federal Building, which houses the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and a U.S. attorney’s office. The DPD bomb squad was also reportedly dispatched to investigate a suspicious package nearby.
“We believe that these suspects were positioning themselves to triangulate on these officers from two different perches in the downtown area and planned to injure or kill as many law enforcement officers as they could,” Brown said during a press conference on Thursday night. “We also believe these suspects have threatened to plant a bomb in the downtown area.”
Brown added that federal law enforcement authorities have been called on to help search the downtown area for any potential explosives.
Dallas police identified one man as a suspected shooter. However, video published by the Dallas Morning News nearly two hours before the DPD tweeted its photo shows what appears to be the same man among the frantic crowd of protesters.
Shots fired at #blacklivesmattertx March @dallasnews pic.twitter.com/2TqIQgkXVm
— The Dallas Morning News Photo/Video (@DallasNewsPhoto) July 8, 2016
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings called on the public to support the law enforcement officers and the families of those injured or killed.
“I ask everybody to focus on one thing right now,” Rawlings said at a press conference. “And that is our Dallas police officers, their families, those who are deceased, and those who are in the hospital fighting for the lives. Let’s all come together and support our police officers.”
#breaking Crowd on the run downtown Dallas. Reports of an officer shot at the protest march. pic.twitter.com/zstZnDIRlm
— Doug Dunbar (@cbs11doug) July 8, 2016
The Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas had reportedly been peaceful until the shots were fired. Some of the officers posed with protesters holding signs. Video clips taken by reporters on the ground reveal the chaotic scene as it unfolded.
#BREAKING: Our cameras captured several shots ring out during a protest in Downtown Dallas pic.twitter.com/OWOBOOI8Jg
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) July 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/allisongriz/status/751234755882995713
The attack marks the deadliest day for law enforcement in the United States since since Sept. 11, 2001.
In June 2015, Dallas Police headquarters was attacked by a man in an armored van. The gunman, apparently angered over a child custody dispute, fired a semi-automatic weapon into the police department building from multiple angles during the rampage-style attack. He was later killed by a police sniper.
Last update 12:35pm CT, July 8.
This is a developing story and will be updated as confirmed details become available.
Additional reporting by Patrick Howell O’Neill and Grant Robertson.
