Dallas: At least five police officers have been shot
dead and six other have been wounded in the United States at protests over
recent police killings of black men.
Police are in a
standoff with one armed man in a garage. Three other people have been detained.
Gunfire broke out at
around 20:45 local time on Thursday (01:45 GMT Friday) as demonstrators marched
through the city.
The protests were
sparked by the deaths of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in
Louisiana. Dallas Police Chief David Brown said officers remained in a
stand-off with one armed man at a garage who was firing off rounds with a
rifle.
He said, “The suspect
that we are negotiating with has told our negotiators that the end is coming
and he is going to hurt and kill more of us, meaning law enforcement, and that
there are bombs all over the place in this garage and in downtown.”
Local reports say
there has been a loud blast at the site, but this has not been confirmed. Chief
Brown said that a woman who was in the vicinity of the man was now being
questioned. Police also said officers had intercepted a car after a person
threw a camouflaged bag into the back and sped off. Two occupants were being
questioned. Chief Brown said the suspects were all believed to have been
working together, using rifles to carry out attacks while the rally was taking
place. He added, “We do not have a comfort level that we have all the
suspects.”
The police said it
appeared that two snipers had fired from “elevated positions” during the
protest rally.
The Dallas protests
were among several held across the US over the police use of lethal force
against African Americans.
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