Dallas Shootings: 5 Officers Shot Dead, 7 Wounded, During Protest Over Police Killings Of Black Men [UPDATED]

Dallas, TX — Five law enforcement officers were shot dead and seven others were wounded Thursday when at least two snipers opened fire during a rally to protest the killing of two black men by police earlier this week. At least three suspects were in custody, including one woman, following a massive search involving hundreds of law officers.

One of those suspects was identified Friday morning as Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas, reports KXAS-TV. Johnson was killed by the Dallas PD bomb squad's robot after a standoff in a parking garage.

Johnson was barricaded for hours in a parking garage near the shooting and fired at SWAT officers while cornered. The standoff ended at about 2:30 a.m. Central Time when police used explosives to dislodge him and he was killed.

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Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown reported earlier that the man had claimed that bombs were planted in the garage and around the city and stated, "the end is coming." Police swept the area and found no explosives.

Before being killed, the gunman said he was upset by the police killings and wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers.

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit police officer who was killed has been identified by the department as Brent Thompson, 43.

Brown said the suspects in custody were not cooperating with police and that others may have been involved.

"We still do not believe we have a comfort level that we have all the suspects," the chief told reporters in a news conference.

Onlookers witnessed police taking one man into custody, handcuffing him as he lay on the ground screaming "f--- the police."

A 25-block area in downtown Dallas is now a crime scene and closed to everyone except police. Authorities urged anyone who doesn't need to be in the western half of downtown Dallas to stay away today. Courts, county buildings and museums are closed.

Two civilians were also wounded, but the targets were the officers, the police chief said. The shootings were the deadliest against law enforcement since 9/11.

The people who attacked “planned to injure and kill as many law enforcement officers as they could,” Brown said. “Some were shot in the back. We believe that these suspects were positioning themselves in a way to triangulate on these officers.”

DART released a statement Friday identifying its wounded officers: Officer Omar Cannon, 44; Officer Misty McBride, 32; and Officer Jesus Retana, 39.

The slain DART officer, Thompson, had recently gotten married, reports WFAA in Dallas.

"Our hearts are broken. This is something that touches every part of our organization. We have received countless expressions of support and sympathy from around the world through the evening. We are grateful for every message," a DART spokesperson said in a statement Friday.

Four suspects armed with rifles were believed to have carried out the attacks, he said.

The shootings and the chaos that ensued were captured in numerous citizen videos. They show flashing police lights bouncing off surrounding buildings while protesters and police officers scramble for cover as bursts of gunshots sound.

One especially disturbing video shows a gunman run to an officer and shoot him at point-blank range.

As the officer lay wounded on the ground, the gunman shoots him again.

Video below is graphic.

The other four officers were with the Dallas Police Department, officials said. Only Patrick Zamarripa, a member of the department's response team, has been identified.

His Twitter bio reads: "Addicted to the thrill of this job. I own the night. I love my Country, Texas, Family, God, Friends, and Sports! Don't Tread on Me! 'Merica." And in one of his last tweets he wrote, "Happy Birthday to the greatest country on the face of this planet. My beloved America!"

Also on Patch

• 'Watch Out Obama,' Former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh Tweets After Dallas Police Murders
• Dallas Attacks 'Vicious, Calculated and Despicable,' Says President Obama

The shootings capped a day in which the country's troubled race relations were laid bare. Many Americans awoke Thursday morning to news programs that showed video of a black man taking his last breaths, dying after being shot by police in Minnesota during a traffic stop. Many headed to bed Thursday night after watching the Dallas officers gunned down during a Black Lives Matter protest of that Minnesota killing and another at the hands of police Tuesday in Louisiana.

Hours after the video of the dying man had saturated news programs and social media Thursday, and before the officers were killed during the ensuing protest, President Obama spoke at length about the nation's need to confront the racial disparities in law enforcement.

“This is not just a black issue, not just a Hispanic issue," he said while in Poland on NATO business. "This is an American issue that we all should care about.”

Then Dallas happened.

Dozens of police were on hand for the march and rally, attended by about 800 people. Protesters were ending their demonstration near the intersection of Lamar and Main streets in a busy section of downtown Dallas about a half-mile from City Hall and a few blocks from the site where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Videos show a peaceful gathering until bursts of rapid gunshots ring out just before 9 p.m. local time.

A video from NBC Tulsa reporter Steven Romo shows officers and protesters scrambling for cover.

Witnesses said their peaceful march devolved into chaos at the first sound of the shots.

"This was peaceful," Stacey Brown, 30, told a Dallas Morning News reporter. "This was peaceful. We were headed back to our cars to go home. But we turned that corner [at Main Street] and all hell broke loose."

"Everyone just started running," Devante Odom, 21, told the paper. "We lost touch with two of our friends just trying to get out of there."

A video from from one of the protesters shows the chaos.

Video below includes foul language.

The scene of the shooting and large areas around it were on lockdown for hours while police searched for those responsible. Government buildings and some businesses in the area were closed Friday.

On Friday, speaking again to reporters in Poland, Obama made reference to his earlier remarks and described the Dallas shootings as a "vicious, calculated, despicable attack."

Of the suspects he said, "We will learn more, undoubtedly, about their twisted motivations, but let’s be clear: There’s no possible justification for these kinds of attacks, or any violence against law enforcement."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement, “In times like these, we must remember — and emphasize — the importance of uniting as Americans.” He said he had directed the state’s Department of Public Safety “to offer whatever assistance the City of Dallas needs at this time.”

The suspects in custody include a woman found in the garage where the shooters were positioned as well as two people who were seen climbing into a black Mercedes with a camouflaged bag before speeding from the area of the shootings, Chief Brown said.

He had reported early in the night that a gunman who had been firing at SWAT officers was captured, but it appeared later that the chief may have been referring to the barricaded suspect who was later killed.

Dallas was one of many cities throughout the country where protesters marched Thursday night following the highly publicized fatal shootings by police of the black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

On Tuesday, police shot to death Sterling outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he had been selling CDs. By Wednesday, a video of the incident taken by the store owner was all over the news and social media. The video showed Sterling on his back with two officers on top of him when at least one officer shot him.

That was followed by the shooting Wednesday of Castile in Minnesota, which was widely reported on Thursday. Castile had been pulled over for a broken taillight when he was shot by an officer at least four times. His girlfriend, in the car with him, used her cell phone to show him bloodied and taking his final breaths in a live Facebook broadcast. A video of that scene has been viewed by millions.

Main Image: Dallas Police Chief David Brown and Mayor Mike Rawlings provide an update on the sniper attack, Screenshot via Dallas Police