Chaos in Dallas streets
Five Dallas police officers were killed and six more injured in a hail of gunfire last night as snipers launched an ambush from atop a parking garage during a demonstration organized to protest police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. One civilian was also wounded.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said investigators believed up to six snipers launched the attack. Quote:
Working together with rifles, (they) triangulated at elevated positions in different points in the downtown area where the march ended up going.
Brown: Suspect not cooperative
SWAT officers corned one of the shooters in a downtown parking garage for several hours until the suspect fatally shot himself about 2 a.m. Dallas time. In his press conference, Brown had said the assailant had quote
told our negotiators that the end is coming and he’s 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.
Mark Hughes: Suspect questioned and released
The chief said a woman and two men were in custody and being questioned for their possible involvement in the attack, but that that they weren’t comfortable that they had all suspects in custody.
Officials said they had yet to determine a motive for the attack. Brown said members of the department met with protest organizers several times before the event and that event was peaceful with both Black Lives Matter and police on site before the attack was launched. He said the department was looking into whether or not protest organizers were complicit in the planning of the ambush.
Officer Brent Thompson: Among the dead
Witnesses reported hearing dozens of shots fired near City Hall at about 9 p.m., sending terrified demonstrators running for cover. They also agreed that the shooters ambushed officers from a multi-story parking garage.
The shooting broke out just hours after the current occupant of the White House posted a statement on Facebook about this week’s police involved shooting deaths of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana, which he blamed on systemic racism in police departments. He said, in part, quote:
…what’s clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve…all Americans should recognize the anger, frustration, and grief that so many Americans are feeling — feelings that are being expressed in peaceful protests and vigils. Michelle and I share those feelings. Rather than fall into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, let’s reflect on what we can do better. Let’s come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter.
As of the airing of this news cast, the President had posted nothing about the assassination of the officers in Dallas.
In a statement posted to its Web site, Blue Lives Matter said this was a terrorist attack against police by Black Lives Matter. Blue Lives Matter attributed the motive for the attack to quote:
…the false narrative that police officers are committing genocide against black Americans. As absurd as such a belief is, it has been propagated by our news media, celebrities, and President. The lie that police officers murder young black men over the color of their skin has spread so far, that it has saturated our society to the point that nobody bothers to examine why police had to use force; it’s assumed that any use of force against a black man is racially motivated and unjustified.
News from our American backyard continues after this.
The black bear meandering through Manchester, courtesy Frame of Mind Photography
A black bear caused some excitement in the Queen City yesterday, as it wandered through the Derryfield Country Club golf course before meandering through several backyards in adjacent neighborhoods off Bridge Street. Police department personnel managed to corner the curious creature between Lake Ave. and Spruce St., where the bear climbed a tree.
How to catch a bear…courtesy of Frame of Mind Photography
Police called in the Fire Department, which sent Ladder Truck 7, so the animal control officer could access the treed bear and tranquilize it. However, it seems that all the attention spooked the bear, which scampered down the tree and led safety personnel on another chase that would run several more blocks, ending on Hospital Ave. near the Elliot Hospital.
Officials try to get bear out of tree…courtesy Frame of Mind Photography
According to photojournalist Jeffrey Hastings, the bear climbed another tree as police kept back hundreds of onlookers while a Fish and Game ranger climbed the tree to tranquilize the bear. Before that happened, the bear beat feet out of the tree again then ran across nearby porches and through yards toward a local diner.
Officials, who lost sight of the bear, believe it climbed another tree in the area. Ultimately, the search was abandoned with Fish and Game personnel hopeful the bear would return to the woods under the cover of darkness.
That’s news from our own backyard! Girard at Large hour ___ is next!
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