DALLAS (CBS News) — Dallas police say five officers were shot and killed, and seven others wounded by snipers during a protest Thursday night (July 7) against recent deadly police shootings. The slain officers included three Dallas PD officers and one officer with DART, the local transportation system. Several other officers were in critical condition.
Two snipers shot down at the officers from an “elevated position,” Dallas police chief David Brown said in a statement. He raised the question of how the snipers knew the route of the protest in order to position themselves.
“They planned to injure and kill as many law enforcement officers as they could,” Chief Brown said.
Dallas police conducted a massive mobilization in the downtown after the shootings, creating a massive crime scene. Buses and public transportation were shut down, stranding hundreds of people in downtown Dallas.
Early Friday, Chief Brown said three subjects were in custody and that police were still in negotiations with a man with whom they exchanged gunfire in a downtown parking garage. That man said “the end is coming” and that he wanted to hurt police. The man also said there were bombs scattered in the downtown. The police bomb squad has been called to handle at least one suspicious package.
Earlier, police released on Twitter a man who they said was a person of interest. That man has turned himself in. Police have also arrested two men in camouflage gear who were seen in the area in a Mercedes.
Chief Brown said they were concerned that there may be other suspects still at large.
The city of Dallas tweeted the following photo of a person of interest who, according to Dallas police, has been identified by witnesses. A man who said he was the suspect’s brother said his brother, whom he identified as Mark Hughes, was not a shooter and had been at the protest with his gun which he said was lawfully registered. The brother, Corey Hughes, said he was one of the organizers of the protest.
Both brothers are speaking with police as of early Friday.
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