Dallas police: Shooting suspect said he ‘wanted to kill white cops’
Gunman who shot dead 5 police officers named as 25-year-old Micah Johnson; Obama orders flags to half-mast to honor victims
The suspect in Thursday’s sniper attacks that left five Dallas police officers dead told negotiators that he wanted to kill white people, especially white cops, after the recent spate of US officer-involved shootings of black men, the city’s police chief said Friday.
Chief David Brown appealed for unity in the wake of the attacks in the major Texas city, which also left nine wounded — seven of them cops. “This must stop — this divisiveness between our police and our citizens,” he said.
“Dallas officers are hurting. We are heartbroken. There are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city,” Brown told reporters.
Brown said the suspect was killed by an explosive device detonated by police during a tense standoff after Thursday night’s rampage, which erupted during a protest over the fatal police shootings of two black men this week elsewhere in the United States.
#Dallas police chief reveals comments suspect told officers https://t.co/b0N19IUkHv pic.twitter.com/mBqaw2RJft
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 8, 2016
The police chief recounted how negotiations with the suspect, who officials have so far only identified as a male, broke down over time. According to the Washington Post, a senior law enforcement official named him as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson, thought to be from the Dallas area.
“He said he was upset about the recent police shootings. The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers,” Brown said. Of the five officers killed, one was a Dallas transit cop.
The gunman said he was not affiliated with any organized groups.
Though police said the gunman professed to be acting alone, three suspects were in custody. Mayor Mike Rawlings said earlier they were “not being very cooperative.”
Rawlings asked Americans to join Dallas residents in prayer at midday, “to bring our city together and our country together — to heal wounds, not create them.”
US President Barack Obama on Friday ordered flags on all government buildings to be flown at half staff until July 12 to honor the victims of the shooting.
“As a mark of respect for the victims of the attack on police officers… I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff,” Obama said in a statement issued as he attended a NATO summit in Warsaw.
The presidential candidates from the two major parties lamented the attack Friday, with both cancelling Friday appearances following the attack.
Prayers and condolences to all of the families who are so thoroughly devastated by the horrors we are all watching take place in our country
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2016
Republican candidate Donald Trump wrote on Twitter: “Prayers and condolences to all of the families who are so thoroughly devastated by the horrors we are all watching take place in our country.”
Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign said that “due to the tragic events in Dallas” a Scranton, Pennsylvania event and a fundraiser with Vice President Joe Biden would not go ahead Friday. Clinton was expected to address the shootings later Friday at an appearance with the African Methodist Episcopal Convention in Philadelphia.
She also took to Twitter to express her horror at the shootings, writing in a post signed with an “H” to indicate that she personally penned it: “I mourn for the officers shot while doing their sacred duty to protect peaceful protesters, for their families & all who serve with them.”
I mourn for the officers shot while doing their sacred duty to protect peaceful protesters, for their families & all who serve with them. -H
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 8, 2016
The attack took place during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men, local police said, in a week that bore dark echoes of the tumultuous civil rights era.
Three people were in custody and a fourth suspect died after a tense standoff with police in a downtown garage, law enforcement officials said.
Videos posted on social media appeared to show a gunman at ground level exchanging fire with a police officer who was then felled.
Former Pres. George W. Bush on #Dallas shooting: "Laura and I are heartbroken by the heinous acts of violence." pic.twitter.com/JqFBhkEFwM
— ABC News (@ABC) July 8, 2016
Authorities have not determined whether any protesters were involved in or were complicit in the attack and were not certain early Friday that all suspects have been located, Brown said.
Rawlings said at the news conference that authorities will likely ask some people to stay away from downtown Dallas on Friday.
“This is still an active crime scene. We’re determining how big that crime scene is,” the mayor said.
Early Friday morning, there were dozens of officers of the corridor of the ER at Baylor Medical Center, where other injured officers were taken. The mayor and police chief were seen arriving there.
Four of the officers who were killed were with the Dallas Police Department, a spokesman said. One was a Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer. The agency said in a statement that 43-year-old officer Brent Thompson was the first officer killed in the line of duty since the agency formed a police department in 1989.
“Our hearts are broken,” the statement said.
Theresa Williams told The Associated Press that one of the injured civilians was her sister, 37-year-old Shetamia Taylor.
Williams said her sister was at the protests Thursday night with her four sons, ages 17 to 12.
When the shooting began, Taylor threw herself over her sons, Williams said. She was undergoing surgery early Friday after being shot in the right calf.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement saying he has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety director to offer “whatever assistance the City of Dallas needs at this time.”
“In times like this we must remember — and emphasize — the importance of uniting as Americans,” Abbott said.
Other protests across the US on Thursday were peaceful. In midtown Manhattan, protesters first gathered in Union Square Park where they chanted “The people united, never be divided!” and “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now!”
In Minnesota, where Castile was shot, hundreds of protesters marched in the rain from a vigil to the governor’s official residence. Protesters also marched in Atlanta, Chicago and Philadelphia.
