Snipers operating from rooftops in Dallas, Texas killed five police officers and wounded seven others late Thursday in a coordinated attack during one of several protests across the United States against the killing of two African-American men by police this week. Police described the attack as carefully planned and executed. Police Chief David Brown blamed "snipers" who fired "ambush style" and "planned to injure and kill as many officers as they could." He said three suspects were in custody while a fourth exchanged gunfire with authorities in a downtown parking garage and told negotiators he intended to hurt more police. Dallas-area media reported that the fourth suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a standoff with negotiators that extended into Friday morning. The fourth suspect warned of placing bombs throughout the city, but police said no explosives have been found. Early Friday, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings confirmed the fourth suspect died. "We don't exactly know the last moments of his death, but explosives did blast him out," he told the Associated Press. A total of 12 police officers and two civilians were shot during the attack, Rawlings told CBS News. Three of the officers who were shot were women, he said. Rawlings said the three suspects in custody, including one woman, were "not being cooperative" with police investigators. He said the attacker who was dead was being fingerprinted and his identity checked with federal authorities. According to the mayor, police still were not certain they knew all of the individuals involved in the attack. No signs have emerged of international links to the shootings, U.S. officials said Friday. "We have not seen even the slightest speculation about it within our community," one official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The shooting began about 8:45 p.m. local time Thursday while hundreds of people were gathered to protest the fatal police shootings in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Saint Paul, Minnesota. Video from the scene showed protesters marching peacefully along a downtown street when shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover. The attacks made Thursday the deadliest day for U.S. law-enforcement since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It also drew comparison with the November day in 1963 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by a sniper on a Dallas street only a few blocks away.
