Fifth officer dies in Dallas shootings

By Reuters   July 8, 2016 | 12:45 am PT
A fifth officer has died in Dallas after snipers opened fire during a protest over the police shootings of two black men earlier in the week.

Dallas police were in a standoff with a suspect on Friday after snipers killed five officers and wounded six, one of the worst mass police shootings in recent U.S. history, during protests against the killing of two black men by police this week.

Police took three people into custody after the shootings on Thursday night and a standoff with another in a downtown garage, where gunfire had been exchanged, extended into Friday morning, officials said.

No motive has been given for the ambush at a downtown protest, one of many held in major cities across the United States on Thursday.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the shooters, some in elevated positions, used sniper rifles to fire at the officers in what appeared to be a coordinated attack.

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A protester holds a sign near the Triple S Food Mart where Alton Sterling was shot dead by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. July 7, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Jonathan Bachman

The suspect in the standoff told police "the end is coming" and that more police were going to be hurt and killed.

Brown said the suspect also told police "there are bombs all over the place in this garage and downtown."

Police initially said four officers had been killed but the main union for Dallas police later reported that one of seven wounded officers had later died, taking the death toll to five.

The shooting happened as otherwise largely peaceful protests unfolded around the United States after the shootings earlier in the week of Philando Castile, 32, by police near St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana who died during an altercation with two white police officers.

Related news:

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U.S. police shoots two black men in two days, sparks outrage, protests

 
 
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