Dallas sniper attack deadliest day for law enforcement since 9/11
Jul 8, 2016, 2:34 AM | Updated: 3:27 pm
A Dallas police officer, who did not want to be identified, takes a moment as she guards an intersection in the early morning after a shooting in downtown Dallas, Friday, July 8, 2016. At least two snipers opened fire on police officers during protests in Dallas on Thursday night; some of the officers were killed, police said. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
(AP Photo/LM Otero)
The alleged sniper attack during a Dallas protest Thursday over two recent fatal police shootings of black men was the deadliest day for law enforcement since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Five police officers were killed and seven others were injured. According to statistics from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, it is the largest single loss of law enforcement life since terrorists flew a plane into the Twin Towers.
More than 70 officers died on 9/11.
Only one officer who was killed in the Dallas attack has been identified. He has been identified as 43-year-old Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer Brent Thompson. According to the Dallas Morning News, he joined the department in 2009.
Thompson was the first DART officer killed in the line of duty in the agency’s history.
“There has been a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement,” President Barack Obama said in an early-morning Friday address from Poland.
“We are horrified over these events,” the president said.
The number of dead officers could rise as multiple were in critical condition. Police also said one civilian had been shot.
ABC News reported some of the officers were shot in the back.
Three suspects have been arrested in connections with the Dallas attack. Another suspect, identified as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson, was killed in a parking garage when police detonated an explosive about four hours after the attack began. Authorities say the explosive was attached to a robot to protect officers.
On Friday, officials said they believe Johnson acted alone. The other suspects were released.
