we worked, of course, extensively with dallas p.d. we had a lot of dallas p.d. officers on our task forces, and they worked the violent crime in the city with us. you know, we were trying to help them. of course they were a larger force than we were. but we targeted, you know, gun violence. that was atf's mission. of course, the bombs. we'd work with them constantly. we knew their command staffs. we met with them all the time. they're just one of the top police forces in the world. their tactical team, we had a special relation with them. our -- atf's special response team, which is a s.w.a.t. team, one of our teams is based in dallas. they work regionally, and they have a very close representative working with the dallas p.d. s.w.a.t. and the fbi has an enhanced s.w.a.t. in their larger division. they have what is called an enhanced s.w.a.t. so those teams like fbi, s.w.a.t., atf special response team, called srt, dallas p.d. s.w.a.t., and all the cities around there that have s.w.a.t. teams, those tactical officers all interact constantly. negotiators work tog

was accomplished in dallas. hopefully other cities will be able to do that. but i got to tell you, police now feel they have got a target on their back and they have got to protect themselves. i hope the community policing can continue because i do believe in it. all right. thanks for being with us. >> thank you, judge. >>> on saturday, at a nato summit in poland, president obama said he did not believe the united states was as divided as some have suggested. good evening, coco. i think to be honest with you that there is more division in the country than there's been in a long time. i like wishful thinking, too, but the reality is that five cops, five white cops, were shot and killed by a racist who said he was doing it in the name of black lives matter. >> no, that's not what he said. that's not what he said. the shooter had a grudge against black lives matter. the shooter was a crazy loner criminal who had too many guns and had some mental illness issues and he specifically said he had it in for black lives m

the dallas ambush. it will continue right now with wolf blitzer. >>> all right, guys, thanks very much. an extraordinarily tragic night. "newsroom," a special edition, starts right now. >>> good morning, and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. thank you for joining us. ambush in dallas. the city's downtown transformed into a killing field. perched high above a peaceful protest in dallas, opens fire. the demonstration against recent officer involved killings, just moments ago, you heard it live here on cnn. police reveal there was a major motivation for the gunman in question, who was killed by a robot, when a bomb, with a bomb that robot had a bomb when negotiations failed. >> to update you on what has transpired since we last spoke, let me walk through the standoff that had occurred, or that was occurring at el centro on the second floor. the college there in downtown dallas. we cornered one suspect, and we tried to negotiate for several hours, negotiations broke down. we

. >> i'm george howell live in dallas, texas. the backdrop behind me, we're here at dallas police deputy head quarters and you seen the memorial that has grown and continues to grow. flowers and balloons and messages remembering the dead here. these five officers killed in the line of duty thursday night as they were protecting marchers during a peaceful protest. seven other officers and two civilians were wounded in that ambush. the shooter has been identified as 25-year-old micah xavier johnson, a former u.s. army reservist who served in afghanistan. authorities say that it appears he acted alone and they say that they found bomb-making materials inside his home before he was killed. before killed by police, he was killed by a bomb squad robot. police say johnson told negotiators he was upset of killings of recent african american men by police. the maryor is calling for peopl to come together. >> the past 24 hours in dallas has been a variable tale of two cities. on the one hand, it's been the tale of heroism of police officer

we'll be back with much more on doo dallas. we'll take you to more protests happening across the u.s. stay with us. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ like bundling home and auto coverage, which reduces redney. tape, which saves money. when they save, you save. that's home and auto insurance for the modern world. esurance, an allstate company. click or call. >>psst. hey... where you going? we've got that thing! you know...diarrhea? abdominal pain? but we said we'd be there... woap, who makes the decisions around here? it's me. don't think i'll make it. stomach again...send! if you're living with frequent, unpredictable diarrhea and abdominal pain, you may have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea or ibs-d - a condition that can be really frustrating. talk to your doctor about viberzi. a different way to treat ibs-d. viberzi is a prescription medication you take every day that helps proactively manage both diarrhea and abdominal pain at the same time. so you stay ahead of your symptoms. viberzi can cause new or worsening abd

breaking right now in dallas, police there have received an anonymous threat against dallas that goes across the city. after the attacks on thursday night the department is taking extra precautions right now. this threat, rick, we don't know much about it. it is anonymous. >> it is. we don't know what is happening or why officers are on edge outside of police headquarters but they are. we are on lamar street. police have sealed off lamar street and cleared everyone out of the front of the building and the side of the building where the swat team is now deployed and numerous officers are out with weapons out surrounding a parking structure on the back side of the building. there are officers in the street. they are urging people to get back. they have yelled at the press numerous times to retreat further and further. whatever they are concerned about, it may or may not be in the parking structure. others have taken up defensive positions outside behind brick walls and trees wondering what is happening. the police asked the media to cut live feeds of police positions outside of the stru

as we've seen in dallas. jon: lynn, the baton rouge and minneapolis events also got wall-to-wall coverage in traditional media because anytime a police officer involved shooting takes place, it leaves newscasts and makes headlines all over thecountry . is it overdone? >> first of all, in the local markets is not. these are very important local stories so let's separate national media from local media. i worry when you have a situation like that, i don't know what the dallas local all outlets are doing but you cannot fault them if they're doing everything within their power and every platform to give news about this for a thick event and their account. whether or not fox news or cnn or msnbc during the cable days needs to devote live coverage of press conferences on it, that i think is another thing you can discuss when you weigh it with other events in the nation and world. jon: it seems like it would be a good time for everybody in the nation to just calm down area these awful events, the worst mass police o

the dallas police department and the dallas rapid transit police department. they have essentially the same functions, as you heard the mayor say just now. there are about 100 police officers out on duty on the street tonight to monitor, as they put it, assist the demonstrators who were demonstrating in dallas tonight and in other cities around the country, in protest of police use of deadly force in cases that were videotaped, captured on videotape this week. one in baton rouge, louisiana. the other in minnesota. those videotapes have sent people into the streets around the country. and as the police chief reported, it was about 8:50 p.m. in dallas tonight, that would be 9:50 p.m. eastern time, when shots suddenly rang out. shots clearly now we know aimed at police officers. you heard the report just now that some of those police officers were shot in the back. the negotiations with one of the shooters -- there's now been reports there are two shooters and the police chief said the two shooters took up positions in a parking garage, in elevated positions. and

there's still a heavy police presence in downtown dallas. we'll have more coming up in just a few minutes. sue. we continue to have a who the forecast to tell you about. the headline for tomorrow is another who the one on the way. it will be humid. but we're going to change things up a little bit on friday and introduce a chance of thunderstorms. we're talking about that and what comes ahead of the seven day forecast all ahead. > this is fox5 local > we're back now with the breaking news in dallas. at least two police officers, after seeing reports from anywhere where three to six police police officers were shot. they are being p treated. hundreds of people gathered in downtown dallas to demand justice of two black men in louisiana and minnesota tonight. we're still working to get more details. we don't yet have the officers' conditions. there is no word yet -- you have an update tony. >> we have some life pictures now. i'm sorry. i'm scared. i've been watching the whole time. i'm sorry for the protestors who were scared. it's out of contro

dallas officers are hurting. we are heartbroken. >> from day one he was a hero. >> let's come together as a country. >> black lives matter. >> oh, my god please don't

four of them of dallas police, one from dallas area rapid. some of them are in critical condition in the hospital last now. everything was peaceful but towards the end, violence or. snipers from above calculated shootings at police officers. we know that three people were arrested. one suspect was dead according to police. none have been identified just yet. 300 people have been it is large demonstration. 100 all is were assigned to the event and the surrounding area downtown. according to dallas police, they did a primary and secondary .uite for explosives none were found because one of the sniper said that there were bombs in the downtown area. mayor willchief and be holding a news conference at a: 30 our time. we will update you live with new information when we make switch toew the shooting is already changing the day to day operations of this lease -- of our police department. suzanne, police are getting new orders overnight? suzanne: they are, as they leave and come into their shift this morning they do so with heavy heart. i spoke to m

>> dallas is investigating, they're doing a great job. one of the things that they're trying to accomplish is just make sure that there's no other sist conspiracies involved in this transaction. you'll see dallas work through this. it will take some time. i don't think it's going to be reza resolved overnight. do you have any reason to believe others may have been involved? >> i can't say at this point. we don't know. we want to make sure there were not others involved. we know there was one shooter but we don't know if there was a conspiracy to help him accomplish this goal. >> what about the three other individuals who were taken into detention thursday night? are they still being held? what, if any, connection did they have to sh shothe shooter? >> we don't know. i know that they've interviewed these people. i know that this is an ongoing investigation. i can't comment on that. right now the dallas police department is the one involved in this. we are hear from the ag's office to support them in any way, we're not the ones that are doi

he moved from michigan to dallas. and patrick zarmarripa was married, had a toddler and school age stepchild and earlier his father spoke about his son smie said look. when he told me he was going to be a police officer, i told him don't be the bad cop. you be the good cop. i told you what's wrong, what's right. do the right thing. >> michael smith 55 years old a wife and two daughters a veteran of the u.s. and lorne ahrens. the dallas police department says two have been released from the hospital. that leaves misty mcbride. she was shot in the arm and an do men. her friends telling us that when she was shot she crawled under a car and her fellow officers brought her to the hospital. we're not getting any updates on the other officers nor is baylor university medical center or parkland memorial hospital. however, we did speak the a few doctors. there's trauma surgery at baylor who told us his experience that evening. >> any time you have public service that comes in, police fire ems that's been injured, yeah, it alwa

warner: back to dallas. joining us to discuss police shootings is former fbi assistant director in charge of new york. >> good morning to you. warner: why dallas? why did this tragedy happen in dallas? >> difficult to say. it could happen in any major city in the united states of america. it appears it was well coordinated and thought out. it wasn't a spontaneous shooting, based on the individuals positioning to start firing on police officers, very difficult to say what their motives are at this point. nicole: we didn't have two shootings earlier this week, one in baton rouge, louisiana and one in minnesota. police officers killing black men. was this planned before that? >> difficult to say. in sympathy with those shootings in those cities. and had those not occurred. >> eddie's every single protest that will take place from today, and the cameras all around downtown dallas. how will they use those cameras to piece the horrific event together. >> just like they do every time, looking first of all about, th

it's out of control here in dallas. this is -- only thing i can do is just get to the house and get out of it because i do not want to get shot. >> so are you at home now ? >> yes, i immediately got home. i got out of everything. >> was the protest still happening? was it winding down? >> it was in the midst of the protest. it was like in the heart of it. it was peaceful, steady picking up, more people was coming out, more people doing peaceful protest but in the midst of it, it just -- gunshot started coming out, barrelling out. >> ringing out. and did you see anyone get shot? >> that i did not see, don, because i immediately started running the opposite way up the steps because i don't want to see anything. and i don't want to be in the midst of anything like that. >> so you only heard shots. you didn't hear people saying anything? >> of course people were hollering. i saw a few people starting to try to pull their phones out to the videotape. i didn't want any part of it. >> what do you make of the situation in dalla

scott pelley is in dallas. he will lead our coverage from dallas today. we will hear from witnesses and we will talk to the dallas mayor and also the head of the naacp. you can get the latest throughout the day on our 24-hour streaming network cbsn. this has been a special report. i'm jeff glor in new york. >>> for news 24 hours a day, go to cbsnews.com. words matter. leadership matters at this time. i'm proud of our chief. >> you may have heard the mayor say four officers. since he made that statement, a fifth officer passed away. snipers ambushed police officers in dallas, texas last night and five officers were killed and a one died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound this morning and the attack began during protests over the fatal shootings of black men in minnesota and louisiana. demonstrators were marching in the heart of the city when dozens of shots rang out. police say the snipers were targeting officers in an effort to injure and kill as many as they could. brian webb is here in new york with the latest. brian, good morning. >> reporter: good morn

dallas will proceed with caution. they will cordon off that area and search that area to make sure when they open that scene back up that they are safe and the citizens are safe in dallas. nothing can be minimized at this point. we have to take all precaution and take seriously. they could be ieds in the area. they will take the proper precaution. >> matt, we asked this of cedric earlier of the level of skill. when you watch some of the video and the way the gunman moves behind the column. you hear from a witnesses the way they were clearly orchestrating this attack. what does that tell you the level of training? how do you read the suspect? >> watching that attack the way they were advancing and retreating. it is almost like they had prior tactical training in the military or some police service. this was not your standard every day criminal that not know what they were doing. high power weaponry. tactical gear. a lot of rounds. let's not forget. this is a huge crime scene. now anywhere you can find ammunition is a p

and we should expect in dallas today, county offices will be closed throughout downtown dallas. the situation not completely on lockdown right now. as i said, three suspects are now in custody. a fourth reportedly has died. so much chaos and commotion last night. you see it right there. police officers on the run, trying to find out what appeared to be quite a sophisticated operation. you hear the gunfire right there. the snipers staking out above the protest. at one point there was a gun fight between one of the shooters and a police officer who were gunned down. almost execution-style as well. it was just a horrific scene unfolding in dallas right there. as we said, 11 police officers shot, 5 killed in this sniper attack. one civilian was shot who were attending the rally with her children as well. her name is shemia taylor and she says she jumped on top of the boys as the shots were fired. she was injured in that shooting as well. police officers swarming throughout downtown dallas as we wait for president obama in poland right now. adrienne, i want to go back to you right no

was accomplished in dallas. hopefully other cities will be able to do that. but i got to tell you, police now feel they have got a target on their back and they have got to protect themselves. i hope the community policing can continue because i do believe in it. all right. thanks for being with us. >> thank you, judge. >>> on saturday, at a nato summit in poland, president obama said he did not believe the united states was as divided as some have suggested. good evening, coco. i think to be honest with you that there is more division in the country than there's been in a long time. i like wishful thinking, too, but the reality is that five cops, five white cops, were shot and killed by a racist who said he was doing it in the name of black lives matter. >> no, that's not what he said. that's not what he said. the shooter had a grudge against black lives matter. the shooter was a crazy loner criminal who had too many guns and had some mental illness issues and he specifically said he had it in for black lives m

dallas. live pictures coming to us now. our local station kdfw fox 4 in dallas is covering this story. >> people who are curious, coming down here to see what is going on which is not a help to police officers. we're walking backwards now as officers are asking us to move back as well. you can see fluid situation now. and we're walking to murphy street. it's being staged now. so watt team we know s.w.a.t. has been on the scene. we saw an additional s.w.a.t. vehicle pulling up and police moving us further away here from the garden park where this started, where this march, this rally started today. as the result of the police shootings of two black men. >> want to update viewers before we transition a bit. we have been told one of our photographers downtown, now, we have crews down here but a police officer has told our photographer they're in the middle of negotiations with a second suspect. they're negotiating with a second suspected shooter. >> we're downtown, just a couple blocks from wher

from him about dallas. you're right that he has talked a lot about and as recently as early this morning, last night, about his concern about racial disparities in the criminal justice system generally. not just police treatment of suspects on the street, but sentencing, incarceration terms, and he spelled out in very plain detail yesterday some of the statistical discrepancies in terms of the number of stops, the number of the arrests, so on and so forth. but the president also spoke out forcefully in support of law enforcement in his remarks yesterday. and that was not by accident. the president is very aware of the pushback he's gotten over the years from law enforcement who have complained that he's not been even-handed in his view of the protests that have been happening out there. law enforcement has acknowledged that they feel under attack, that not enough attention is being paid when an officer falls in the line of duty, generally by the country and by the white house in particular. and the presiden

god bless dallas. god bless texas. >> reporter: the police chief adding about this attack, it appeared to be well-planned. and they're still trying to get all the details. their investigation continues, of course, on the number of shooters involved here. that continues here at baylor university medical center. we're still waiting for updates on how the injured officers and civilians are doing. >> when the updates come, we'll come back to rich edson, rich, thank you so much. craig miller is the former police chief of the city of dallas and in addition has worked the deaths of police officers more than you want to think about, i'm guessing, over the years. >> my time here in dallas pd had the job of investigating officer-involved shootings. i was at 75 officer-involved shooting investigations where i directly led those. those included more than a hundred officers from dallas pd, atf, fbi, dea, local agencies here inned it technicixas. i have a lot of experience in these types of incidents. a situation li

dallas police have not confirmed that. but we have confirmation there was a suspicious person inside a garage, used by the dallas police department and not open to the general public. that person was spotted by one or two dallas police department employees. they attempted to stop that person, that person ran. so there was a suspicious person inside the garage, used by the dallas police department. not long after the dallas police department announced it had received a credible threat about a threat towards the members of its department. so they receive a threat, then they spot someone inside the garage that only they can use, and they have now locked down this entire area. there are police on nearly every corner. there are s.w.a.t. officers inside that garage and on the outside of the garage. there are officers with weapons drawn outside the garage, taking defensive positions behind vehicles, brick walls and trees. and we have spotted officers inside the roof of the parking structure and the second floor, appearing to go c

dallas. 4:00 back east. want to take a second to remind you of what we know right now. what we know about last night's deadly shooting. five police officers are dead. seven more officers are hurt. a shooter now identified as 25-year-old micah xavier johnson opened fire at the end of what had been a peaceful protest here in dallas, texas. the city's police chief saying johnson, quote, wanted to kill white people, especially white officers, and that he was upset about recent police shootings. just a short time oago, mult pel senior officials said the investigation so far leads them to believe that johnson was, in fact, the lone gunman. he did it by himself. they say the investigation, however, remains fluid. sources say part of the investigation still includes other possible suspects who may have assisted him. johnson killed after an hours-long standoff. at this point we're waiting for a news conference from the governor of texas, greg abbott, as well as a number of other folks who will join hi

george howell here live in dallas. the backdrop behind me, the dallas police department. i want to show you here because this quite frankly tells the story. you get a sense of the outpouring of love and support that has come through here in dallas. all of the flowers. all of the balloons, teddy bears, the messages for these five officers, five officers who put their lives on the line just the other day killed in the line of duty. they were gunned down, and seven of their colleagues were also wounded when a sniper opened fire on what started as a peaceful protest here in dallas thursday night. two civilians also wounded in that attack. authorities believed that the gunman, 25-year-old micah xavier johnson, a former u.s. army reservist, that he was the lone shooter. they say he was armed with a rifle and had a handgun. police negotiators say they told him that he was upset. he was upset about recent police shootings of african-americans at the hands of police officers, and that he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers. the texas governor greg abbott hailed

area in the city of dallas. four of them have died. >> don't miss the updates on facebook. we'll continue to monitor the story here on abc news following our news updates as well as later on good morning america. following our news >>> breaking news in america. several police officers are dead after snipers opened fire. >>> protesters running for their lives at a demonstration against police involved killings. officers taking cover and hunting for the gunman. suspect is now in custody. >> the suspect that we are negotiating with has told our negotiators that the end is coming and he's going to hurt and kill more of us. >> college students and staff locked down and stranded for hours, a major american city in shock this morning. this is a special edition of "america this morning."

in october, we were told dallas police and city of dallas was at ten year low for crime. next few months later, dallas needs a state trooper and fbi to come in to help the murder rate. so there are many things. officers are leaving. many things addressed from a community standpoint when it comes to community organizations to addressing police brutality were never brought to the table. girl scouts of america, boys and girls club. we're never brought to the table to be listened to about the issues addressing police brutality in this community. i would not say that. i would not say that i would stand up for our community in addressing these issues, but i will be definitely prayerful because of the situation he's going through right now in his department but at the same time, that we have been addressing this issue for some time now in dallas and dallas has a very fine way of covering up police shootings. >> i know there's been a number of incidents. after what happened on friday night, what do you say to someone, a police officer or police officer family member who said, loo

was accomplished in dallas. hopefully other cities will be able to do that. but i got to tell you, police now feel they have got a target on their back and they have got to protect themselves. i hope the community policing can continue because i do believe in it. all right. thanks for being with us. >> thank you, judge. >>> on saturday, at a nato summit in poland, president obama said he did not believe the united states was as divided as some have suggested. good evening, coco. i think to be honest with you that there is more division in the country than there's been in a long time. i like wishful thinking, too, but the reality is that five cops, five white cops, were shot and killed by a racist who said he was doing it in the name of black lives matter. >> no, that's not what he said. that's not what he said. the shooter had a grudge against black lives matter. the shooter was a crazy loner criminal who had too many guns and had some mental illness issues and he specifically said he had it in for black lives m

also in custody, three the total, right now,hree dallas police department officers as well as a dallas rapid transit officer are the ones dead. >> and the police have said there are worries there may be bombs planted. apparently the person in the standoff staid there are bombs. another thing they'll have to investigate. >> yeah. we'll be right back. (sound♪ of music ♪histling) introducing new k-y touch gel crème. for massage and intimacy. every touch, gently intensified. a little touch is all it takes. k-y touch. >>> welcome back to "world news now." we're covering breaking news out of dallas this morning where last night just after 9:00 p.m. during what was otherwise a peaceful protest, sniper fire on police officers there in dallas. 11 officers were shot. four of those officers are dead in addition to a civilian injured as well. >> i have a friend there on scene who mentioned that you can just hear the bullets whizzing by. he was a photographer, whizzing by his camera and ear. it was a dramatic scene. and the police officers there with him had no idea where the bu

we are expecting to hear more news from the dallas mayor and the dallas police chief this morning in about 17 minutes or so as they update us on this investigation. and on the suspects they may or may not have in custody. >>> local news now. airbnb has removed a listing from a texas man who reportedly refused to rent to someone because of his sexual orientation. a houston television station reports a man from houston signed up to rent a listing ahead of austin's gay pride festival. airbnb later cancelled it. the homeowner sent the man a message saying he did not support the lgbt community. when airbnb knew of the story they removed the lister and said they have zero tolerance with discrimination. >>> traveling the style with lyft. they are launching it in here. riders can order either a bmw, audi, lexus, or cadillac escalade to pick them up. the luxury rides will of course cost more. >> all right. lyft raising its came up. >>> it is not just scott mcgrew's favorite day of the month. it is also the most important day of the month for the american economy. jobs friday. >> let's right t

so with that context, talk about dallas. >> dallas is certainly an american tragedy. as you recall, charlie, two years ago we had a similar experience in new york with two of our detectives murdered just before christmas, and we had this conversation. i've been very admiring of chief brown in terms of his handling, not only of the horrific events that night, but since that time, really helping america to understand the dilemma that american police face in today's society. >> rose: right. >> we have become the kind of catchall for all the ills of our society. we put an awful a lot of burdens on the shoulders of our young police officers. but he's also reflective of something that's not oftentimes recognized in american policing, just how good so many of our chiefs are in major cities, that the progression of professionalism in my profession over the last 40 years, since i joined the police department, boston 1970, has been extraordinary. the creativity, the humanity, the passion that american police chiefs bring to the profession, he's representative of that. he's cert

both the dallas police chief and the dallas mayor spoke out within the past hour saying a fourth suspect is dead and that police did kill him. cops used a bomb robot to bomb out that fourth suspect in a standoff that ended only a few hours ago. police told us what the suspect said during the standoff. take a listen. >> the suspect said he was upset about black lives matter. he said he was upset about the recent police shootings. the suspect said he was upset at white people. the suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers. >> the police chief also went on to say the suspect stated he was not affiliated with a group, worked alone, and that eventually police would find ieds in the area. they have not found any of those. apart from that suspect, three other people are in police custody. and also new this morning, the number of victims has changed. 12 officers were shot and two civilians. among those, five officers are dead. the dallas mayor also says most of those officers who were hospitalized have now been released. earlier this morning the mayor also said the

michael smith who first joined the dallas police in 1989. and lorne ahrens who spent 14 years in the department. that's what we learned, what we know at this hour. but we're still left with in questions. what led to this? how much premeditated planning went into they tack, and was it meant to be connected to last night's protest or was the shooter just looking for any opportunity. was anyone else aware of his plans? and most of all, can we have a cohesive national reaction to all of this that improves things rather than making them worse? joining us is dallas county judge jenkins. thank you so much for your time tonight. i know this has been a really difficult time for you and the citizens of dallas. let's start by asking how your community is doing tonight. >> i think the community is strong. they've really shown a lot of support for the officers. i know the first responders and the people that are out working this crime scene behind me. they feel that support. we're really feeling that from our community. but understandably, people are sho

dallas is a city in mourning. four days after the ambush that killed five officers, investigators say the gunman had bigger plans. >> we're convinced that this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous. >> reporter: sunday the city's police chief revealed the gunman used his own blood to write "rb" on a wall in the building where he was killed after negotiations failed. the chief also defended his department's unprecedented use of a robot bomb to kill the gunman. >> without our actions, he would have hurt more officers. so we had no choice in my mind, but to use all tools necessary. >> reporter: as the investigation here in dallas intensefies, protests over police violence continue across the country. in memphis sunday, demonstrators shut down a bridge, angry over the killings of two black men last week. hundreds were arrested during demonstrations in baton rouge over the weekend where one of the controversial shootings took place. president obama is calling for calm. >> i'd like all

dallas was no different. it was during a night outdoors for especially a lot of young people that shots rang out. dallas police officers in a briefing within the past hour say they have reason to believe that there are more than one suspects they are looking for that more than one sniper opera operating from a high angle was using part of downtown dallas as a kill zone targeting police officers because they were police officers. this video you are seeing on this screen is part of the video that came into us tonight via social media as the extent of this emergency became clear. we are going to run some of the video tapes now of what we have witnessed so far in our coverage tonight from dallas. [ sirens ] [ gunshot ] oh my god. [ sirens ] [ bleep ]. >> this is not one person. >> now, that sound sounded a lot to those been around firearms like the report, like the sound of a long gun. and, especially people in law enforcement feared that was on semi or full automatic. more rounds than you could count. again, hap

dallas is a great city. our officers will continue to put themselves in harm's way to protect these great citizens. so, it's worthwhile. >> i want to brag just for a second if anybody hasn't heard us say this. this police department trained in de-escalation far before cities across america did it where wae are one of the premier community policing cities in the country. and this year we have the fewest police officer-related shootings than any large city in america. so, we are working hard to improve and there is always room for improvement. but we are best in class, we feel. >> no, i'm not going to be satisfied until we turn over every stone. wae have some level that this one suspect did do some of the shooting, but we're not satisfied that we exhausted every lead. and we're not going to be satisfied until every lead is exhausted. if there is someone out there associated with this, we will find you. and we will prosecute you and we will bring you to justice. >> as of right now, a total of four suspects? >>

dallas police ambush. five killed, seven injured by sniper fire during a protest over the killings of black men by police. >>> by stander videos capturing the horror downtown. dallas, a war zone. >> shots fired. officer down. >> a suspect identified. an army veteran who said he wanted to kill white cops. how he laughed at police and how they killed him using a bomb carrying robot when negotiations failed. the attack on the heels of two african-american men killed by police this week. the president calling the ambush vicious, caulated and despicable. police departments nationwide on edge after the deadliest day for american law enforcement since 9/11. we're live from dallas with all the latest on the investigation. "nightly news" begins right now. >> tragedy in dallas. this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. reporting tonight from dallas. >>> good evening. tonight police say the shots that turned the streets behind me into a killing zone, taking the lives of 15 police officers, wounding seven others an

dallas officers are hurting. we are heartbroken. there are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city. all i know is that, that this must stop. this divisiveness. >> reporter: this appears to have been a carefully planned attack on those dallas officers. federal and state authorities are coming in to help out in the investigation. the chief said a short time ago that the gunman told officers during that standoff last night that he acted alone in this attack and that he was not affiliated with any groups. still, as you can imagine, authorities are continuing massive investigations. they will continue to search for anyone else who may have been involved in the attack of health or possibly the planning of the attack. >>> four of the officers killed were with the dallas police department. one was a dallas area rapid transit officer or, dart. the agency identifies him as brent thompson. he joined the department in 2009 and is the first dart officer killed in the line of duty. three other police officers were shot and wou

he moved from michigan to dallas. and patrick zamarripa was married, had a toddler and school age stepchild and earlier his father spoke about his son smie said, look. when he told me he was going to be a police officer, i told him don't be the bad cop. you be the good cop. i told you what's wrong, what's right. do the right thing. >> michael smith, 55 years old, a wife and two daughters, a veteran of the u.s. and lorne ahrens. the dallas police department says two have been released from the hospital. that leaves misty mcbride. she was shot in the arm and an do men. her friends telling us that when she was shot she crawled under a car and her fellow officers brought her to the hospital. we're not getting any updates on the other officers nor is baylor university medical center or parkland memorial hospital. however, we did speak the a few doctors. there's trauma surgery at baylor who told us his experience that evening. >> any time you have public service that comes in, police, fire, ems that's been injured, yeah, it

was accomplished in dallas. hopefully other cities will be able to do that. but i got to tell you, police now feel they have got a target on their back and they have got to protect themselves. i hope the community policing can continue because i do believe in it. all right. thanks for being with us. >> thank you, judge. >>> on saturday, at a nato summit in poland, president obama said he did not believe the united states was as divided as some have suggested. good evening, coco. i think to be honest with you that there is more division in n a long time. i like wishful thinking, too, but the reality is that five cops, five white cops, were shot and killed by a racist who said he was doing it in the name of black lives matter. >> no, that's not what he said. that's not what he said. the shooter had a grudge against black lives matter. the shooter was a crazy loner criminal who had too many guns and had some mental illness issues and he specifically said he had it in for black lives matter. he didn't do this for bl

with that context, talk about dallas. bill: dallas is certainly an american tragedy. as you recall, charlie, we had a similar experience in new york where detectives were murdered before christmas, and we had this conversation. i have been admiring chief brown. since that time, he helped ring america to understand the dilemma american police face in today's society. we have become the catchall for all of the ills of society, an off a lot of of burdens of young police officers. he is also reflective so something not recognized -- of something not often recognize, how chiefs in major cities, the progression of professionalism in my profession over the last 40 years since i joined the police department in 1970. it has been a ordinary, the creativity -- extraordinary, the creativity, the passion american police chiefs bring to the profession. he is represented if of that. he served -- charlie: tell me about the professionalism he is, and how you achieve it. bill: it is the idea we recognize we are a profession that is continuing in need of improvement. we have come a long

in dallas. the historical significance of the night is coming into play as the shooting suspect is said to be cornered by the police chief there you just heard. a total of the lower third there said three officers shot, 10 officers shot is incorrect. the police chief corrected the report. 11 officers are shot. one from dallas area rapid transit is dead. two dallas police department dead. three critical. a total of 11 shot, then, a civilian has been wounded as well. they believe they have one trapped. official report is that they have one cornered. we do not know the exact location. we know they're looking for this man in the camouflage shirt that we've just showed and we'll be able to bring up for you again. the man in the camouflage shirt. dallas police are saying please look at this picture. if you know this person, you know who this is, call authorities. they -- if you're in the dallas metropolitan area, call dallas pd and call 911, not 911 but call the police department. 911 is very busy. on

the president saying that the white house offered the people of dallas, the dallas police force, every support possible. he offered his condolences to the families of the victims, and support for them, as well. he said that all the facts are still pouring in, but there was still one definite conclusion that there was no excuse for gunning down police officers. here's a bit more of what the president had to say. >> we still don't know all the facts. what we do know is that there has been a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement. police in dallas were on duty doing their jobs, keeping people safe during peaceful protests. these law enforcement officers were rg toated. i believe that i speak for every single american when i say that we are horrified over these events and that we stand united with people and the police department in dallas. >> the president was clearly troubled by what he has learned about this horrific incident. just yesterday, arriving in warsaw, the president had taken the unusual step of speaking out about the deaths of the two black prus secretar

they're in dallas. they're trying to make sure that we don't let this -- this attack these killings divide us. that had you know the dallas community are trying to work together to show that they are solidarity behind one community and reality is that these men in law enforcement lost their lives protecting people that or were -- that were you know trying to have a peaceful protest against some law enforcement practices. and that you know they doing thr job and willing to risk their lives to do that. you know, this is i hope that we can use this, this tragedy, these horrific killings as an xasm or let's work together. let's try to find common ground. let's identify what the problem is first. and then we can talk about solutions. this is not the time to retreat to our corners and use tired talking points that are used over and over. >> congressman you are first african-american, republican, elected from the state of texas. is that correct? >> i think since reconstruction. >> since reconstruction. yep. yo

live in dallas. set the scene for us now, jacob. >> what we're seeing is a lot of conflicted folks. people who showed up for the protest who tell us they were angry at police officers in general, including at dallas police officers. that they had experiences with dallas police that made them unhappy and made them feel disrespected. and then for this to happen and now, of course, they feel they say their hearts go out to the officers. we saw a group of them here praying behind us just moments ago. and they're struggling with these emotions inside because they were very, very angry and upset with the two shootings this week of two african-american men and then they came here to let out some of that energy, they said. then to have this happen. when i asked them, what is the path forward? usually the response is that they believe, they say, that there needs to be more open dialogue that we need to feel safe talking about race or feel more comfortable or be more willing to talk about race. and to do so pe

dallas police by their side. then just before 9:00 p.m., as the march was ending, the crack of semi-automatic fire. >> all of a sudden, we just heard gunfire and there were shots ringing out it felt like from every direction. we didn't know which way to hide, which way to go. >> reporter: people scattered gripped by panic. >> just started to run and grab kids and them their mothers get somewhere safe. we didn't want anyone hurt. >> reporter: one mother was shot and injured shielding her children from the bullets. this father and son lost each other in the crowd. >> reporter: what was the most terrifying part about all of it. >> the most terrifying part was us being separated and not knowing where the bullets was coming from and seeing an officer drop right in front of you. >> reporter: as they ran away from the gunfire, police ran toward it and it quickly became clear the shooter had police officers in his sights. >> all of the cops were shot. i saw cops bending over, man. it had to have been like five or six cop

and he'll go down to visit dallas. this of course at a time when the country seems divided so much on matters of race, on gun control, most importantly, how to address it. >> we cannot let the actions of a few define all of us. >> that was the president speaking at the nato summit in poland earlier today reflecting on two more killings of young black men at the hands of police this week. and then following it very quickly, the sniper attack in dallas that left five police officers dead, seven others wounded, some still recovering. we now know the president will travel to texas, to dallas, in the next few days facing tough questions about what his own legacy will be on race. cnn's michele kozinski is traveling with the president. she filed this report. >> reporter: president obama has now left warsaw. and he wrapped up his days at the nato summit here with a press conference that largely focused on events in the united states. this is the third time in as many days that we've heard him speaking on the subject. didn't wa

much of downtown dallas is shut down. but authorities have said they finished their second sweep of this area for explosives, and none were found. but now we're learning from the police chief that this suspect told police that he did this because he wanted to kill white police officers. after this week's police shooting deaths of black men in louisiana and minnesota, what began as a peaceful protest in downtown dallas turned suddenly into chaos. >> go, go, go! >> reporter: just before 9:00 p.m., terrified demonstrators running for cover, others stopping to help the injured. cell phone video capturing the barrage of gunfire. >> shots fired. officer down. it's an assist officer. >> reporter: police ducking behind squad cars and building, one officer ditching behind his motorcycle, taking cover. >> they just started shooting, all of the cops were getting shot. i just saw cops bending over. it had to be five or six cops getting shot down. >> reporter: authorities calling it an ambush. >> we heard the shots, and i saw one of t

>> before dallas and after dallas we're prepared to do everything we can to be able to do that and have it stick. >> and sir, can you be more specific? are you going to do something through the atf or will it be an executive action? >> well, there is a debate as to whether or not there is an authority and executive action. i think we have the authority. and there is a concern that if in fact we go ahead and do it what the response will be from the united states congress in a way that may be able to override a veto. but i'm not prepared to give you more detail at this moment except to say you are right about the total non-utility from a sporting perspective of armor-piercing bullets and we are focusing on it. >> is it worth a try even if you face a veto? >> i've learned t in front of my name. v, vice president. but speaking for myself i think it is worth a try. >> vice president biden, we're grateful for your time, thank you. >> thanks an awful lot. >> the republican convention opens next monday and today the party got to work on its platform. julianna goldman has more. >> reporter: as d