LATEST UPDATES: Dallas police shooting
The Associated Press/Staff Reports
SATURDAY: Dallas sniper's objective: Kill police
An Army veteran killed by Dallas police after the sniper slayings of five officers had told authorities that he was upset about the police shootings of two black men earlier this week and wanted to kill white people, "especially white officers," officials said.
The man, identified as Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, was killed by a robot-delivered explosive after the shootings. In all, 12 officers were shot, and two civilians were wounded.
The officers who were shot were patrolling a peaceful demonstration by thousands of people protesting the fatal shootings earlier in the week of black men by police officers in Minnesota and Louisiana.
After the attack, Johnson tried to take refuge in a parking garage and engaged in an hourslong standoff with police, Police Chief David Brown said.
6:02 p.m.: Mayor says Dallas shooter used AR-15 rifle
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says the suspect in the sniper slayings of five officers used an AR-15 rifle.
Rawlings said that's the type of weapon 25-year-old Micah Johnson used in the attack Thursday night in downtown Dallas. A similar assault weapon was used in the attacks at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people.
The Dallas attack happened at a protest about the recent killings of black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota.
Johnson was killed by a robot-delivered bomb after the shootings.
4:54 p.m.: Religious leaders hold interfaith vigil
Religious leaders have held an interfaith prayer vigil for the victims in the attack on Dallas police officers.
Speakers called for healing and for improvements in the way police and the public interact.
Pastor T.D. Jakes said those who gathered Friday at Thanks-Giving Square in downtown Dallas "cannot be oblivious to the plight of this nation." He referenced incidents in Ferguson, Missouri, Baton Rouge, Louisiana and others in which black men were killed by white officers.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told the mixed-race crowd of several hundred people that the country must be willing to address racial issues. He says, "We as a city, as a state, as a nation are struggling with racial issues. Yes, it's that word 'race'. We've got to take it head on."
Dallas Pastor Bryan Carter told the crowd they "share a common pain."
4:39 p.m.: Slain suspect had bomb-making materials, combat tactics journal at home
Dallas police say the slain suspect in the killings of five police officers had bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition, and a personal journal of combat tactics at his home.
They also say that people they interviewed have described 25-year-old Micah Johnson as a loner.
The department also said in a statement Friday that detectives have interviewed more than 200 members of law enforcement and that "it appears at least 12 officers" fired their weapons when someone opened fired on police Thursday night. It happened during a demonstration to protest the recent killings of black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota.
Police killed Johnson using a robot-delivered bomb after negotiations failed.
They say detectives are in the processing of analyzing the information contained in the journal.
4:26 p.m.: Officers targeted in other states
Police say officers have been targeted in Tennessee, Georgia and Missouri in the aftermath of two high-profile killings of black men by law enforcement.
The attack in Tennessee occurred hours before the killing of five police officers in Dallas on Thursday night during a protest. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says the attacker told authorities that he was frustrated by the recent killings by police of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
Police have not disclosed a motive in Friday's attacks in Georgia and Missouri, which have been described as ambushes.
In a fourth attack early Friday, a motorist fired at a police car as the officer drove by. In all, four officers were wounded. The officer wounded outside St. Louis is in critical but stable condition. The wounded officers are expected to survive.
4:20 p.m.: Cars serve as memorials to slain officers
Two patrol cars have been parked outside of Dallas police headquarters to serve as a memorial to the five officers who were killed and seven who were wounded in an overnight attack.
The police department has been posting photos of people pausing by the memorial. Some have adorned the cars with flowers, signs and flags.
The attack began Thursday night during a protest of recent killings by police of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota. Two civilians were also wounded in the Dallas attack.
Police killed a suspect using a robot-delivered bomb after negotiations failed.
2:08 p.m.: Details emerge on veteran linked to Dallas sniper shootings
DALLAS — Micah Xavier Johnson was known by his family and neighbors as an "Army strong" veteran who served in Afghanistan and loved playground basketball back home in suburban Dallas.
He's now known more widely as the 25-year-old armed suspect killed Friday just hours after five police officers were fatally shot and seven wounded after a downtown demonstration.
Johnson was believed to have shared a two-story tan brick home in Mesquite, about 30 minutes east of Dallas, with family members. He graduated from John Horn High School in Mesquite, school district officials said.
1:37 p.m.: VIDEO: Little Rock police chief talks Dallas shootings
Chief Kenton Buckner held a news conference to discuss the officers' deaths and Little Rock's response.
12:38 p.m.: Army says suspect in Dallas killings served in Army Reserve
WASHINGTON — The Army said Friday that Micah Xavier Johnson, named as a suspect in the Dallas police shootings, served in the Army Reserve for six years and did a nine-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.
The Army released a portion of Johnson's service record that said he enlisted in March 2009 and served in the Army Reserve until April 2015. He was a private first class and at the time he entered the Army gave his home of record as Mesquite, Texas, the Army said.
His military occupational specialty was carpentry and masonry, the Army said.
The Army said Johnson deployed to Afghanistan in November 2013 and returned in July 2014. For that he was given an Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star. He also earned an Army Achievement Medal, an Army Service Ribbon and an Armed Forces Reserve Medal with "M'' Device, among other standard awards for service.
11:50 a.m.: 5 Dallas officers slain, deadliest day for police since 9/11
Five Dallas police officers were fatally shot and seven others wounded during a protest over the deaths of black men killed by police this week in Louisiana and Minnesota — the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Police Chief David Brown blamed "snipers," but it was unclear how many shooters were involved in Thursday's attack. Authorities initially said three suspects were in custody and a fourth dead, killed by a robot-delivered bomb in a parking garage where he had exchanged fire with officers. Hours later, officials were vague and would not discuss details.
Before dying, the police chief said, the suspect told officers he was upset about recent shootings and wanted to kill whites, "especially white officers." The man also stated that he acted alone and was not affiliated with any groups, Brown said.
11:35 a.m.: Attorney General calls for peace after week of heartbreak
Attorney General Loretta Lynch is calling for peace and calm in the wake of the attack on police officers in Dallas, saying that violence is never the answer.
Lynch said Friday at the Justice Department in Washington that it has been a week of heartbreak and loss for the nation.
Five police officers were killed by gunfire in Dallas Thursday night at a peaceful protest march prompted by the shootings by police of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
Lynch says the spate of violence can't be allowed to "precipitate a new normal." Calling the Dallas attack "an unfathomable tragedy," she says those concerned about suspect killings by police should not be discouraged "by those who use your lawful actions as a cover for their heinous violence."
11:20 a.m.: Police arrive at apparent home of shooting suspect
Investigators can be seen walking in and out of a suburban Dallas house believed to be that of a man suspected in the overnight attack that killed five Dallas police officers and wounded seven others.
About a half-dozen police vehicles are parked outside the two-story brick home in Mesquite thought to be that of Micah Johnson.
Authorities haven't publicly disclosed the name of a suspect whom police killed with a robot-delivered bomb after negotiations failed. But a law enforcement official speaking on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information told The Associated Press that he was 25-year-old Micah Johnson.
Mesquite authorities say they were at the home to assist Dallas investigators.
11 a.m.: NAACP president calls for policies
The president of the NAACP is calling for policies, not handwringing, in the wake of the deadly attack on police in Dallas.
Cornell William Brooks made the comment in an interview Friday on CBS This Morning. He says that includes establishing a national standard for excessive use of force and federal laws that address police accountability and community trust.
The attack began Thursday night at a protest over recent killings by police of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota. Five officers were killed and seven others were wounded. Two civilians were also wounded and police killed a suspect.
Brooks says citizens are afraid and capturing more fatal shootings by police on video due to a minority of officers "who defile the profession by their conduct."
10:52 a.m.: VIDEO: 'We're hurting'
10:40 a.m.: Black Lives Matter supporters denounce shooting
Some Black Lives Matter supporters are condemning the slayings of police in Dallas during a protest over fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
New York Daily News columnist Shaun King says on Twitter that he hates police brutality but doesn't hate police. He says: "This violence is wrong on every level."
Center for Media Justice director Malkia Cyril says her "heart hurts for the dead."
Cyril and King also defended the Black Lives Matter movement.
She writes that it "advocates dignity, justice and freedom, not the murder of cops." King says anyone blaming Black Lives Matter "is sick." He says protesters were peaceful and the shootings "terrorized them too."
10:30 a.m.: First instance of police using a robot to kill
A robotics expert says Dallas police appear to be the first law enforcement agency to use a robot to kill.
Peter W. Singer, of the New America Foundation, says the killing of a suspect in Thursday night's fatal shooting of five police officers is the first instance of which he's aware of a robot being used lethally by police.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown told reporters that after hours of failed negotiations and in order to not put any officers in harm's way, his department used a robot to deliver a bomb that killed the suspect. Brown said they saw no other option.
Singer said in an email Friday that when he was researching his 2009 book Wired for War a U.S. soldier told him troops in Iraq sometimes used MARCbot surveillance robots against insurgents.
10:11 a.m.: Official identifies shooting suspect
A Texas law enforcement official has told The Associated Press that a slain suspect in the attack on Dallas police was 25-year-old Micah Johnson.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he said he was not authorized to release the information. There were no immediate details on the suspect's middle name or hometown.
The attack began Thursday night during a protest about the recent killings by police of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota. Five officers were killed and seven others were wounded. Two civilians were also wounded.
Police Chief David Brown said Friday that his department used a robot-delivered bomb to kill a suspect after hours of negotiations failed. He says the suspect expressed anger over recent killings by police of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
10 a.m.: Speaker calls for focus on uniting values
House Speaker Paul Ryan says anger over the police shootings in Dallas must not be allowed to harden the nation's divisions.
Speaking Friday on the House Floor, Ryan said that "justice will be done."
He says it's been a "long month for America" and that the nation has seen terrible and senseless things.
But he says that in debating how to respond, "let's not lose sight of the values that unite us, our common humanity."
Ryan says: "A few perpetrators of evil do not represent us; they do not control us."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi took the floor after Ryan, joining in his expression of grief and thanking Dallas police officers for their service.
Pelosi says: "Justice will be done, justice must be done. Also mercy must be done."
9:50 a.m.: Dramatic footage shows Dallas officer shot
Warning: The video below shows disturbing footage of a police officer being shot. Viewer discretion is advised:
9:10 a.m.: Police chief: Suspect told officers he acted alone
Dallas' police chief says a suspect in the deadly overnight attack on police officers told negotiators that he acted alone and was unaffiliated with any group.
Chief David Brown said at a news conference Friday that the suspect also said he was upset about recent police shootings and wanted to kill white people, particularly white officers.
He says officers killed the suspect with a robot-delivered bomb after hours of negotiations failed.
Although Brown says the suspect said he acted alone, it remains unclear if that was the case. He said earlier Friday that three other suspects were in custody, but he later declined to discuss those detentions and said police still didn't know if investigators had accounted for all participants in the attack.
The attack began Thursday night during a protest about the recent killings by police of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota. Five officers were killed and seven others were wounded. Two civilians were also wounded.
9:08 a.m.: Cotton, Boozman condemn Dallas shootings
U.S. Sen. John Boozman called the attack that left five police officers dead in Dallas "horrific" while U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton said it was an "evil, heinous act."
8:45 a.m.: Slain Dallas transit officer was a newlywed
The Dallas transit police chief says an officer who was fatally shot during a downtown protest was a newlywed whose bride also works for the police force.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit police Chief James Spiller described Officer Brent Thompson on Friday as a "courageous" and "great guy."
Thompson was among five police officers killed during a Thursday night demonstration to protest police shooting deaths of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
Spiller says Thompson got married two weeks ago. His wife, Emily, was not on duty at the protest.
The police chief last spoke to Thompson on Tuesday as they passed each other in a hallway. Spiller says he asked how the newlyweds were doing and how things were going with Thompson's job.
7:55 a.m.: Suspect in shootings wanted to kill white people, chief says
Police Chief David Brown says a suspect in the overnight attack that killed five police officers, wounded seven others and wounded two civilians said he was upset over the recent police shootings of black men and wanted to kill white people.
Brown said at a news conference Friday that the suspect made the comments before he was killed by an explosive used by police.
He says his department and their families are grieving and that the divisiveness between police and the public must stop.
Authorities say snipers opened fire on police officers during a peaceful protest in downtown Dallas Thursday night over the recent fatal shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
Brown said authorities are also still not certain that they have identified everyone involved in the attack.
He said that investigators have not ruled out that others may have been involved.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says an overnight standoff with one suspect in a parking garage ended when police detonated an explosive about four hours after the attack began. Authorities say the explosive was attached to a robot to protect officers.
Brown would not reveal any details about other potential suspects that have been detained by police and interviewed.
7:49 a.m.: Wrongly identified suspect released
A man wrongly identified by Dallas police as a suspect in a sniper attack on police says he turned himself in and was quickly released.
The Dallas Police Department put out a photo on its Twitter account late Thursday of a man wearing a camouflage shirt and holding a rifle with the message: "This is one of our suspects. Please help us find him!" The tweet remained on the account early Friday morning.
The man in the photo, Mark Hughes, tells Dallas TV station KTVT that he "flagged down a police officer" immediately after finding out he was a suspect. He says police lied during a 30-minute interrogation, telling him they had video of him shooting.
Videos posted online show Hughes walking around peacefully during the shooting and later turning over his gun to a police officer.
7:42 a.m.: DART officers expected to recover
Dallas Area Rapid Transit officials say three DART police officers wounded by snipers during a protest are expected to recover.
Thursday night's shootings left four Dallas police officers and one DART officer dead, plus seven other officers wounded. The demonstration was to protest two fatal police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier this week.
A DART statement Friday identified the agency's three wounded personnel as 44-year-old Officer Omar Cannon, 32-year-old Officer Misty McBride and 39-year-old Officer Jesus Retana. DART spokesman Morgan Lyons did not release details of the injuries, but said all three should recover.
Officer Brent Thompson was the first DART officer killed in the line of duty since the transit agency formed a police department in 1989. Thompson was 43 and had worked as a DART officer since 2009.
7:38 A.M.: Obama says America is horrified over Dallas attack
WARSAW, Poland — President Barack Obama said Friday that America is "horrified" by what appears to be a planned sniper shooting targeting police officers in Dallas, and he said there is no justification for the violence.
In a brief statement to reporters, Obama said the investigation into the shooting continues but "what we do know is there has been a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement."
6:11 A.M.: 5 officers dead, 7 hurt in Dallas protest shooting
Dallas was in shock and beset by uncertainty early Friday after gunmen shot and killed five police officers and wounded seven during a peaceful protest over fatal police shootings of black men in other states, police said, in bloodshed evoking the trauma of the nation's tumultuous civil rights era.
Police Chief David Brown blamed "snipers" and said three suspects were in custody while a fourth had exchanged gunfire with authorities in a parking garage downtown and told negotiators he intended to hurt more law enforcement officials.