Five police officers dead in sniper attack in Dallas
Protest against shooting of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling
- Gunfire started at 20:45 local time on Thursday in city in Texas
- Suspect negotiating with police says that "the end is coming"
The US city of Dallas has been rocked by an organised attack on police officers during a protest over the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, in which so far five law enforcement officials have been killed.
Six more have been wounded in the Texan city attack which was carried out by a pair of snipers in the downtown area.
A suspect was being holed-up in a second floor garage in the city and police said that he was exchanging gunfire.
"The suspect we're negotiating with ... has 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 and downtown, so we're being very careful with our tactics, so we don't put our officers in harm's way, or the citizens," Brown said.
Three people are in custody and police released a photo of an additional man who was regarded as a suspect, before he handed himself in to officers before being released. He is said to be the brother of one of the protest organisers.
Footage circulating on Twitter has shown the reaction of citizens and police in the immediate aftermath of the first shots in Dallas.
RAW VIDEO: Our cameras captured the panic after the first shots were fired in downtown #Dallas Thursday nighthttps://t.co/JXcapjFIHv
— WFAA-TV (@wfaachannel8) July 8, 2016
Another video has shown the moment that a Dallas law enforcement officer confronted a shooter with a semi-autmoatic weapon, before being shot in the back by the man.
GRAPHIC FOOTAGE: Dallas shooting
— Mister Right (@mistercorrect) July 8, 2016
Randy Biart footage
gunman shoots police officer pic.twitter.com/9vwK777G2c
The attacks have come after the fatal shootings of two black men by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. The demonstration in Dallas was organised a protest against the deaths.