Dallas police reported two suspects are in custody after snipers shot at least 11 police officers, killing four, in a downtown area of the city where protests had been taking place. Neither has been named.
The first, whose picture was circulated on Twitter turned himself in, police said. The second was involved in a shootout with Dallas SWAT officers. He is also in custody. No injuries have been reported from the shootout.
A suspicious package was found near the second suspect, which is being secured by Dallas Police Department.
The shootings occurred during protests in downtown Dallas over the recent police shootings of black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Minnesota.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said in a press conference late Thursday night that there are at least two suspects at this time. At the time of the news conference, he said police had cornered one suspect in a parking garage and negotiations were underway.
He also said police believe the suspects may have planted a bomb in downtown Dallas. The FBI and ATF are on scene, canvassing the area.
The Dallas Morning News reported the shots were fired at near the intersection of Market and Main streets, which is near the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza.
These shots came at around 9 p.m., local time just as a rally where hundreds gathered to protest the recent fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in Minnesota was ending, KXAS reported. The protesters were marching from the Belo Garden Park to the Old Red Courthouse. Video showed scenes of people fleeing through the streets as they heard shots.
It is unknown at this time if there is a connection between the shots and the protest.
A video that appears to capture audio of shooting appeared on YouTube and Twitter. In the video, what sounds like several bursts of gunfire can be heard.
“Everyone just started running,” protester Devante Odom told the newspaper. “We lost touch with two of our friends just trying to get out of there.”
Renee Sifflet, a mother of three teenagers who attended the rally and march, said she lost track of one of her children during the ensuing chaos.
“I brought them here for a positive experience, something they could say they were part of when they’re older, ” she said. “Then it turned negative.”
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