The first shot came as night fell
‘Our profession is hurting’
The murderous havoc unleashed on police at an anti-racism protest in Dallas Thursday night began with sniper fire. But at least one officer died in close-quarters street combat.
Dramatic footage taken by a civilian on a phone shows the entrance of El Centro College from a building rooftop across the street. A man with a rifle paced by the doors, shooting in both directions at police stationed around both street corners.
An officer approached, also armed with a rifle, and took shelter behind a pillar. He fired on the gunman but missed, and stepped back behind the pillar. The gunman then appeared to run a fake, charging first to the side of the pillar where the officer fired from, then shifting to his right and coming around the other side, easily shooting the officer repeatedly in the back, and continuing to fire as he fell to the ground.
The gunman then left the body where it lay and rounded the corner, as gunshots, presumably from police, kick up dust from the pillars and sidewalk around him. He did not appear to be hit.
Panicked hours would pass before he was cornered on the second floor of a nearby parking garage and, after failed negotiations, killed by a remote control police bomb. He had shot 12 law enforcement officers, killing five.
The mayhem and panic, charged through with racial tension, threatened to further divide a country already tormented by the killings of black men by white officers, nearly all of which have gone unpunished.
THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE ATROCITY THAT OCCURRED TO OUR CITY.
The Dallas protest was in response two such killings in as many days, in Louisiana and Minnesota. The dominant mood was outrage — one sign read “Blu Klux Klan” — but the protest was peaceful and safe, with 800 marchers overseen by 100 police, until it was wrapping up just before 9 p.m.
Then, as darkness fell, at least one sniper opened fire on officers in the crowd from concealed, elevated positions, and stalked them around the streets of central Dallas two blocks from Dealey Plaza, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
The killings marked the greatest loss of life for police in America since 9/11. Eight of the officers shot are with Dallas police, and four are with Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Two of the injured are women. Two civilians were also shot.
Initial reports said there was more than one shooter, but police said late Friday they believe the gunman acted alone, as he claimed to a negotiator.
Three people were in custody Friday, a woman arrested near the shooter’s final standoff, and two men who were seen getting into a black Mercedes near the shootings, and were followed and stopped several kilometres away. None were named by police.
The dead gunman was identified as Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, who lived in Mesquite, a suburb of Dallas. Until April last year, he served in the Army reserves, where he trained as a carpentry and masonry specialist, and served a single tour in Afghanistan. A neighbour told CNN he lived with his mother, and a black SUV found at the scene was registered to a woman who shares his surname.
The Associated Press reported police found bombmaking equipment and a journal of combat tactics in his home.
He had no known criminal history or links to terrorists groups. He is thought to have belonged to a shooting club, and has extensive social media links with Black Panther and anti-police groups, but also mainstream Black Lives Matter groups.
President Barack Obama, speaking at a NATO summit in Poland, said he was horrified and that America stands united with the police and people of Dallas.
He said the nation is sure to hear of the killer’s “twisted motivations.”
“But let’s be clear, there’s no possible justification for these kinds of attacks, or any violence against law enforcement,” he said. “Even as yesterday I spoke about our need to be concerned, as all Americans, about racial disparities in our criminal justice system, I also said yesterday that our police have an extraordinarily difficult job, and the vast majority of them do their job in outstanding fashion ... Today is a wrenching reminder of the sacrifices they make for us.”
Two other police shootings Friday illustrated his point. In Missouri, a 30-year-old man shot an officer as he walked back to his car during a traffic stop, and in Georgia, a 22-yearold man called in an emergency and ambushed the officer who responded. Both officers are expected to survive.
Obama also related the attacks to America’s divisive gun control debate, saying such attacks are more deadly and tragic when people are armed with powerful weapons. “In the days ahead, we’ll have to consider those realities as well,” he said.
In Dallas, those realities were brought into focus by the early mistaken identification of a suspect. Police released a photo of a black man wearing a camouflage shirt and carrying a rifle slung over his shoulder as he walked among the protesters. This turned out to be Mark Hughes, a man licensed to carry a gun in that fashion, who was cleared after turning himself in to police.
“It was persecution on me unrightly, and I feel that they need to do something about that,” he told a television station.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch said federal law enforcement agencies are cooperating in the investigation.
“We intend to provide any assistance that we can to investigate the attack and also to help heal a community that has been severely shaken and deeply scarred by an unfathomable tragedy,” she told a news conference. “Our hearts are broken by this loss.”
When negotiations began just before midnight, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the suspect was “lucid.” He expressed anger for Black Lives Matter, the movement that has risen up in response to police violence against blacks, and he told the police negotiator he wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers.
He said police would “eventually find the IEDs,” or improvised explosive devices, but police have not disclosed whether any have been found. He said he was not affiliated with any group and acted alone.
By 2:30 a.m., negotiations for his surrender failed and there was an exchange of gunfire.
“We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension for it to detonate where the suspect was,” Police Chief Brown said. “Other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger.”
It was not clear whether he was killed by the police explosive, or whether that explosive was used to detonate another bomb in the suspect’s possession, as is sometimes done by bomb disposal teams. Early reports that he shot himself were false, Brown said.
“The suspect is deceased as a result of detonating the bomb,” Brown said.
Most of the injured officers have been released, he said, although some will need further treatment.
“We’re hurting,” Brown said. “Our profession is hurting. Dallas officers are hurting. We are heartbroken. There are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city. All I know is this must stop, this divisiveness between our police and our citizens.”