Shortly before 9pm CST, on Thursday 7 July 2016, shots were fired on police officers in the city of Dallas at the site of a protest over the recent controversial police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.
Here is what the news is saying now, as of 11:30 CST:
—11 police officers shot, 3-4 dead, another 3-4 in critical condition
—Two gunman were responsible, firing from “elevated positions” (I.e., snipers)
—They have released a photo of one person of interest.
—Police have a building surrounded and say one suspect is on the loose. Not clear which of two suspects is in the photo. —Bomb threat made
I will try to update news as it comes in.
Consider this an open thread.
Some updates. Remember, the situation is "in flux" as they say. So some info may prove later to inaccurate.
11:40 Bomb squad securing suspicious package. One of the snipers was in a shootout with police and has been apprehended. Person of interest in photo has allegedly turned himself in.
00:15 Police say "suspected snipers" are in custody. "Threat to public is over."
1:00 Dallas Police Chief: "We still don't have a complete comfort level that we have all the suspects."
1:45 Fox News: "Suspect holed up in high-rise, exchanging gunfire with police."
1:50 Fox News reporting 5th police officer has died. 10:50 Gunman is dead, killed by a police bomb. Death toll is officially 5 dead, making it the worst day for US police since 9/11. Police Chief said gunman claimed he wanted to kill "white people, white cops."
Here is what the news is saying now, as of 11:30 CST:
—11 police officers shot, 3-4 dead, another 3-4 in critical condition
—Two gunman were responsible, firing from “elevated positions” (I.e., snipers)
—They have released a photo of one person of interest.
—Police have a building surrounded and say one suspect is on the loose. Not clear which of two suspects is in the photo. —Bomb threat made
I will try to update news as it comes in.
Consider this an open thread.
Some updates. Remember, the situation is "in flux" as they say. So some info may prove later to inaccurate.
11:40 Bomb squad securing suspicious package. One of the snipers was in a shootout with police and has been apprehended. Person of interest in photo has allegedly turned himself in.
00:15 Police say "suspected snipers" are in custody. "Threat to public is over."
1:00 Dallas Police Chief: "We still don't have a complete comfort level that we have all the suspects."
1:45 Fox News: "Suspect holed up in high-rise, exchanging gunfire with police."
1:50 Fox News reporting 5th police officer has died. 10:50 Gunman is dead, killed by a police bomb. Death toll is officially 5 dead, making it the worst day for US police since 9/11. Police Chief said gunman claimed he wanted to kill "white people, white cops."
I hope the cops catch or kill the terrorists without any more loss of loss of (non-terrorist) life. My prayers go out to the families of the dead and wounded.
ReplyDeletePress conference held by Dallas Mayor Rawlings and DPD Chief Brown: youtube.com/watch?v=WBm8Ck_V4EU
ReplyDeleteIn the inevitable event that you hear some commentator remarking that we don't or can't know the motives of the shooter(s), here are the comments from the deceased suspect as recorded by the DPD hostage negotiator and read by Chief David Brown.
ReplyDeleteThe suspect said he was upset about Black Lives Matter. He said he was upset about the recent shootings. The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers. The suspect stated that we will eventually find the IEDs. The suspect stated he was not affiliated with any groups and he stated that he did this alone.
A brief commentary: we can be reasonably certain that that last assertion by the suspect was, by narrow definition, a lie, in that there are other suspects in custody and, based on Chief Brown's further comments, still others at large.
I agree with Anthony. My condolences to the officers and my utter disgust for the creatures that did this.
ReplyDeleteI'm going away for my birthday this weekend, so let me leave this thought. Sorry for the language, but this stuff makes me so angry.
ReplyDeleteI am truly tired of seeing this. I am tired of twisted creatures who think it is acceptable to kill innocent people in the name of some cause. I am tired of famous people flirting with encouraging this crap. I am tired of people defending Islam. I am tired of thugs who think it's acceptable to kill or maim another person just because they want something. I am tired of crazy women killing their children. I am tired of insecure men who kill their ex-wives. I am tired of the media turning all of this into a game show. I am tired of the left exploiting these things to push their causes. I am tired of ghetto culture pushing machismo to the point of thuggery and murder. I am tired of people being unwilling to point a finger at these causes.
I am tired of all of it.
The human race is capable of such beauty and such grace, and it's time that the shits among us grew up the fuck up and joined the rest of us as humans rather than animals, because that is what these people are... they are retarded animals.
May God bless the good people, and fuck the rest.
And on that note, Happy Birthday, Andrew!
ReplyDeleteI second that, Andrew. All of it.
ReplyDeleteAnd Happy Birthday to you! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
As writer Saladin Ahmed put it, "I would go back in time and kill baby 2016 no questions asked."
ReplyDeleteFirst, happy birthday weekend, AP!
ReplyDeleteTo your list of grievances, very well stated. I add the below:
I’m tired of those who love flaunting their B.S. in Victimology. I’m tired of anyone who revels in spotlighting what divides us instead of what unites us, and that most certainly includes an Agitator in Chief who smirks his way through a fork-tongued press conference, one second offering condolences before admonishing them just for existing.
This may be apropos of nothing, but it's an observation I want to share nonetheless. I visit Digg on an almost daily basis. Usually they have a headline leading to a compilation article about some hot-topic that reads something like Everything You Need To Know About X. So I find it surprising today that they take a much more cautious approach with today's headline, What We Know About The Dallas Sniper Shootings. It's a subtle difference, but it sheds the presumptuousness normally on display. I wonder why?
ReplyDeleteAll I can really add at this point is well said, Andrew and Eric. And also Happy Early Birthday, Andrew! Enjoy it, you've certainly earned the break.
ReplyDelete- Daniel
Happy Birthday Andrew!
ReplyDeleteLINK
Another black gunman filled with hatred of the police (and perhaps whites given the race of his victims) went on a shooting spree in Tennessee.
ReplyDeletehttp://bigstory.ap.org/c894476bcbcf4d98b68ae98b27e0a0ff
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — A man accused of shooting indiscriminately at passing cars and police on a Tennessee highway told investigators he was angry about police violence against African-Americans, authorities said Friday.
One woman died and three others, including one police officer, were injured in the rampage.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a news release that initial conversations with the suspect, 37-year-old Lakeem Keon Scott, revealed he was troubled by several incidents across the U.S.
Scott, who is black, was wounded in the shootout with police, remains hospitalized and has not yet been charged. All those shot were white, police confirmed.
Well, it ought to be fun next week when I'm in Dallas...
ReplyDelete