Snipers opened fire on police officers in Dallas, killing five officers and wounding several more during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men, police said.
A suspect who engaged in gunfire with the police has reportedly killed himself. Three more suspects including a woman have been arrested, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said early Friday morning.
The suspect who has reportedly died warned negotiators there are "bombs all over" and the "end is coming."
The US aviation authorities have restricted flights over Dallas after the deadly shooting, which took place at around 8.45 pm on Thursday. The police chief said the snipers fired "ambush style" upon the officers.
"The suspect..has told our negotiators that the end is coming, and he is going to hurt and kill more of us, meaning law enforcement. And that there are bombs all over the place in this garage and in downtown," the police chief told reporters.
Just after the shootings, the police had tweeted a photo of one of the suspects and appealed for information on him. They later said in a statement that the suspect had surrendered. Reports suggest that person has been released.
The White House says President Barack Obama "has been updated on the shooting of police officers in Dallas."
The gunfire broke out while hundreds of people were gathered to protest fatal police shootings this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St Paul, Minnesota.
The protests in Dallas were among several across the country that were held after a Minnesota officer on Wednesday fatally shot Philando Castile while he was in a car with a woman and a child in a St Paul suburb. The aftermath of the shooting was live-streamed in a widely shared Facebook video. A day earlier, Alton Sterling was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers. That, too, was captured on a cellphone video.
Video footage from the scene showed that protesters were marching along a street in downtown, about half a mile from City Hall, when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.
Mr Brown said that it appeared the shooters "planned to injure and kill as many officers as they could."
"In times like this we must remember - and emphasize - the importance of uniting as Americans," said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
The search for the shooters stretched throughout downtown, an area of hotels, restaurants, businesses and some residential apartments. The scene was chaotic, with helicopters hovering overhead and officers with automatic rifles on the street corners.
"Everyone just started running," Devante Odom, 21, told The Dallas Morning News. "We lost touch with two of our friends just trying to get out of there."
Carlos Harris, who lives downtown told the newspaper that the shooters "were strategic. It was tap tap pause. Tap tap pause."
Demonstrator Brittaney Peete told The Associated Press that she didn't hear the gunshots, but she "saw people rushing back toward me saying there was an active shooter."
Peete said she saw a woman trip and nearly get trampled
A suspect who engaged in gunfire with the police has reportedly killed himself. Three more suspects including a woman have been arrested, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said early Friday morning.
The suspect who has reportedly died warned negotiators there are "bombs all over" and the "end is coming."
The US aviation authorities have restricted flights over Dallas after the deadly shooting, which took place at around 8.45 pm on Thursday. The police chief said the snipers fired "ambush style" upon the officers.
"The suspect..has told our negotiators that the end is coming, and he is going to hurt and kill more of us, meaning law enforcement. And that there are bombs all over the place in this garage and in downtown," the police chief told reporters.
Just after the shootings, the police had tweeted a photo of one of the suspects and appealed for information on him. They later said in a statement that the suspect had surrendered. Reports suggest that person has been released.
The White House says President Barack Obama "has been updated on the shooting of police officers in Dallas."
The gunfire broke out while hundreds of people were gathered to protest fatal police shootings this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St Paul, Minnesota.
The protests in Dallas were among several across the country that were held after a Minnesota officer on Wednesday fatally shot Philando Castile while he was in a car with a woman and a child in a St Paul suburb. The aftermath of the shooting was live-streamed in a widely shared Facebook video. A day earlier, Alton Sterling was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers. That, too, was captured on a cellphone video.
Video footage from the scene showed that protesters were marching along a street in downtown, about half a mile from City Hall, when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.
Mr Brown said that it appeared the shooters "planned to injure and kill as many officers as they could."
"In times like this we must remember - and emphasize - the importance of uniting as Americans," said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
The search for the shooters stretched throughout downtown, an area of hotels, restaurants, businesses and some residential apartments. The scene was chaotic, with helicopters hovering overhead and officers with automatic rifles on the street corners.
"Everyone just started running," Devante Odom, 21, told The Dallas Morning News. "We lost touch with two of our friends just trying to get out of there."
Carlos Harris, who lives downtown told the newspaper that the shooters "were strategic. It was tap tap pause. Tap tap pause."
Demonstrator Brittaney Peete told The Associated Press that she didn't hear the gunshots, but she "saw people rushing back toward me saying there was an active shooter."
Peete said she saw a woman trip and nearly get trampled
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