Dallas protest: Three police officers dead in sniper shooting

• Five police officers have been killed and six more injured after shots were fired during an anti-violence protest in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday evening.

• Police have been engaged in an armed standoff with a suspect on a second-floor parking lot close to El Centro College. The suspect has fired at police and claims to have placed bombs in the city. Police chief David Brown said:

The suspect we are negotiating with … has told our negotiators that the end is coming and he’s going to hurt and kill more of us … and that there are bombs all over the place, here and downtown.

• Three other people have been detained by police: a woman who was stopped close to the garage, plus two people who were stopped in a dark Mercedes.

• Brown said police believed four people had worked together to launch the attack, but he did not speculate on a motive for the shootings. He said the people in custody were not cooperating:

We are waiting for the suspects to break.

5m ago06:16

Images from the scene show multiple police officers engaged in what is still thought to be an active situation. A number of people have been detained but officials have not said whether they believe they have caught the people involved.

A police department press conference is due soon. We will have all updates here.

8m ago05:43

The man in the widely circulated photo has turned himself in, according to police, who are now calling him a “person of interest”. In a previous tweet with his photo, the department called him a “suspect”.

A man who said he was the person of interest’s brother told a local news station that his brother was innocent and that he handed his gun over to police when the shooting happened.

“100% it’s not him,” the brother said, adding, “With him having an AR-15 with him, I said ... ‘give your gun to the cop so there’s no misidentification.’”

He said his brother brought the gun to the protest because “it is his right. He was simply exercising his right.”

No suspects have been taken into custody and police said they have cornered at least one suspect while another remains at large.

Fourth officer killed

Another Dallas police officer has died, the department just announced.

With heavy hearts, we are devastated to report a fourth officer has been killed.

From The BBC

Three police officers have been shot dead and seven injured during protests in Dallas against the shooting of black men by US police, the authorities say.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown said it appeared two snipers were responsible.

Gunfire broke out as demonstrators marched through the city on Thursday evening, sending them fleeing for cover.

The protests were sparked by the deaths of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana.

From NBC News

Ten Dallas law enforcement officers were shot, three fatally, by what is believed to be two snipers who opened fire during a demonstration downtown over recent police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, the Dallas police chief said.

"Tonight it appears that two snipers shot ten police officers from elevated positions during the protest/rally," Dallas police Chief David Brown said in a statement.

"Three officers are deceased, two are in surgery and three are in critical condition. An intensive search for suspects is currently underway," Brown said.

An 11th officer was shot during an exchange of gunfire, Brown said later. Police have a person of interest, Brown said.

• 4m ago11 officers hit, police investigating bomb threat
• 15m agoPolice release suspect photo
• 37m ago10 officers shot, 3 dead, police say
• 43m agoOne officer dead in Dallas
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