The world woke to a harrowing front page of the Dallas Morning News Friday: "Ambush."
The front page of Friday's Dallas Morning News following Thursday's shootings downtown. pic.twitter.com/ExIlxEMA9V
— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) July 8, 2016
"Ambush" was the only word that could describe what happened on Thursday night in downtown Dallas, when snipers reportedly opened fire on an otherwise peaceful protest, shooting 12 police officers, five of whom died. Two civilians were also injured.
One suspect was captured following a firefight with Dallas SWAT officers shortly after the attack. Another suspect was killed after exchanging gun fire with police in an hours-long standoff Thursday night and into Friday morning. A number of additional suspects were also detained over the course of the night.
The Dallas shooting was the deadliest day for law enforcement in the United States since 9/11, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
It was a surprise attack on a demonstration meant to protest the two most recent instances of excessive police force on black men; Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, two black men from Minnesota and Louisiana, respectively, were shot and killed by police officers within 48 hours of each other this week.
All three incidents — the two police shootings, and the attack on the protest — were captured on video, contributing to a reinvigorated national conversation on race relations and police brutality. Cities around the country were peacefully demonstrating Castile and Sterling’s death Thursday.
