Thursday night was a tragic and terribly long one in Dallas, Texas where multiple officers were shot with at least five deceased and many more injured and in critical condition. A number of conflicting suspect reports still swirl, and the confusion continues for the public as law enforcement pieces together this awful event. Dallas Police Chief David Brown delivered a press conference speech on Friday morning to clear up some of the static.
After first admitting that “there are no words to describe” what happened in Dallas, Brown detailed how police cornered one suspect in a community college parking garage. Officers negotiated for hours before there was an exchange of fire and, eventually, the police detonated a robot bomb. Brown revealed that the suspect was upset about the recent police shootings and at white people. The man indicated that several explosives were left in downtown Dallas, and he admitted to being a lone wolf and not a part of a larger group.
Then Brown delivered some particularly poignant closing comments:
“Some of the bravest men and women you’d ever want to be associated with. You see video footage of them running toward gunfire from an elevated position with no chance to protect themselves. And to put themselves in harm’s way to make sure that citizens can get to a place of security. So, please join me in applauding these brave men and women who do this job under great scrutiny, under great vulnerability. Who literally risk their lives to protect our democracy. We don’t feel much support most days. Let’s not make today most days. Please, we need your support.”
Indeed, the Dallas community is rallying around police, but Brown hopes healing will take place on a nationwide basis. He’s not speaking hollow words either, as force members marched with Black Lives Matter protesters before gunfire began.
“We’re hurting, our profession is hurting, Dallas officers are hurting,” Brown said. “We are heartbroken. There are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city. All I know is that this must stop, this divisiveness between our police and our citizens.”
Although this report doesn’t clear up exactly how many suspects were involved in this entire incident — and whether this lone wolf truly had anything to do with the group of snipers — we’ll likely hear more in the coming days and will keep updating the situation.