Downtown Dallas, Texas became a war zone late Thursday night when two snipers shot down at a crowd of police officers. Eleven officers were hit, with at least four being reported killed as additional backup was called to the scene.
Dallas tragedy
Three suspects are currently in custody, with another still on the run as the Dallas Police Department attempt to calm the situation down. The day started with a peaceful rally put together by Black Lives Matter activists protesting the recent police shootings that resulted in the deaths of two African-American males over the last week.
According rally attendees, the protest was peaceful throughout the day until shots were fired from the snipers above. The News quickly went viral, resulting in a controversial tweet from a former Republican congressman, according to the Daily Kos on July 8.
Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh, who has been accused of being a "deadbeat dad" for lack of child support payments, as well as being a "racist" by his critics, chimed in on the shooting. In typical right-wing fashion, Walsh blamed the deaths of the four officers on President Obama and the Black Lives Matter movement. "3 Dallas Cops killed, 7 wounded," Walsh tweeted out, stating, "This is now war. Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks.
Real America is coming after you."
.@DPDChief: Three suspects are in custody, one remains in a standoff with officers. Watch the latest: https://t.co/dxAaZyJTHm
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 8, 2016
After backlash, Walsh pulled his tweet, and replaced it with another message that doesn't appear to be any better. "10 Cops shot," Walsh said, following it up by saying, "You did this Obama.
You did this liberals. You did this #BLM. Time to defend our Cops. Wake up."
@ShaunKing a former congressman just threatened to kill the president pic.twitter.com/uJ1c0AhSp1
— drew olanoff (@drew) July 8, 2016
Current status
The latest report by the Dallas Police Department and CBS News confirms that four officers have been killed by the snipers, with others recovering or in surgery.
The police released a photo of their first alleged suspect, but witnesses at the protest quickly confirmed that the "person of interest" was not involved in the shooting. The protests were originally put together following the controversial shooting deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling over the last week by police officers.
