11 Cops Shot, 5 Killed During Dallas Protest

One suspect in custody after shootout
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 7, 2016 11:55 PM CDT
Updated Jul 8, 2016 12:01 AM CDT
11 Cops Shot, 4 Killed During Dallas Protest
Police respond after shots were fired at a police brutality rally in downtown Dallas.   (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)

Five police officers have been killed and at least six injured in what Mayor Mike Rawlings calls a "heartbreaking moment for the city of Dallas." Police say the officers were shot "ambush-style" by at least two snipers in elevated positions during a march to protest police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, ABC News reports. Some of the officers were shot in the back, and a witness says the snipers "were strategic. It was tap tap pause. Tap tap pause." Around 2am, police announced that a fifth officer had died from his injuries. The AP reports that Dallas police say one suspect is now in custody and a "person of interest" whose photo was circulated has surrendered. Earlier, the Dallas Morning News reported that one suspect had been cornered in a parking garage.

Four Dallas police officers and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer were killed in the shooting, which happened just before 9pm Thursday as demonstrators made their way through downtown. Police say the suspect now in custody was arrested after a shootout and that a suspicious package found nearby is being dealt with by the bomb squad, the Guardian reports. Public transport has been suspended and authorities have urged people to leave the downtown area. "I ask everybody to focus on one thing right now and that is Dallas police officers, their families, those that are deceased, those that are in the hospital fighting for their lives," Mayor Rawlings says. "Let's all come together and support our police officers." (More Dallas police shooting stories.)

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