5 Police Officers Shot and Killed by Snipers in Downtown Dallas During Peaceful Protest

Five police officers were killed in a hail of gunfire that erupted near a peaceful protest in Dallas, according to city officials. A total of 11 officers were shot, 10 by two snipers in “elevated positions” and one by the suspect during a subsequent exchange in downtown Dallas, according to the DPD. One civilian was also wounded.

The ambush marks the deadliest day for law enforcement in the United States since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Police said early Friday morning that one suspect had been taken into custody after a shootout with Dallas SWAT officers. Around 1:30 a.m. Eastern time, police officials said they had another suspect cornered: “The suspect that we are negotiating with that has exchanged gunfire over the last 45 minutes has told us that the end is coming and that he is going to hurt us.”

Three other suspects were in police custody, including two who were seen throwing a camouflage bag into a Mercedes and later apprehended by police. Officers said a third suspect, a woman, was captured close to the parking garage where the last known remaining suspect was barricaded.

The ambush in downtown Dallas sent shockwaves through the city and the rest of the country, still reeling from the two shooting deaths of black men at the hands of police just this week. The identities and motive of the shooters was still a mystery as of early Friday morning.

A Facebook Live broadcast by Michael Kevin Bautista shows the moments that dozens of shots rang out in downtown Dallas. In the graphic video, two police officers appear to be laying on the ground after several dozen shots are fired:

CBS DFW quoted a witness saying he heard what sounded like shots fired from an assault rifle. The gunfire rang out at the end of rally protesting police violence, which had been peaceful prior to the shooting.

People were gathering to protest racially motivated police brutality after two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, were both fatally shot by police officers on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Dramatic footage of Sterling and Castile being killed — both of whom were nonviolent at the time of their shooting — galvanized the #BlackLivesMatter movement into action in cities across the country.

MIC