DALLAS _ Snipers fatally shot three Dallas police officers and one transit officer, and wounded several others as a demonstration against shootings of black men by police wrapped up Thursday night.
Dallas police Chief David Brown said about 8:58 p.m., at least two snipers shot 11 officers and one civilian from elevated positions with rifles during the rally in downtown.
Two officers were in surgery earlier in the night and three were in critical condition, police said.
Three other Dallas Area Rapid Transit officers were wounded but their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, said Morgan Lyons, a spokesman for DART.
The officers were shot "ambush style," Brown said, with some shot in the back.
"Give our officers strength to catch these suspects and bring them to justice tonight," he said.
About 1:20 a.m., an explosion went off at the El Centro College parking structure. It was unclear whether police detonated a suspicious package they found earlier or if it was something else, such as a flash-bang intended to distract a suspect who remained in the parking garage.
At a 12:30 a.m. news conference, Brown said officers had been exchanging gunfire for 45 minutes with a man in the garage who was not cooperating.
"He has told our negotiators that the end is coming and he's 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," Brown said.
A woman who was in the same area as the man in the standoff was taken into custody, he said.
He said police aren't certain they have all the suspects.
People were encouraged to stay away from downtown.
Brown said he was proud to "be a part of this great noble profession," and to see the courage of the officers, some of whom ran toward gunfire to help the injured.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings called for unity amid the tragedy.
"We as a city, we as a country must come together, lock arms and heal the wounds that we all feel from time to time," he said. "Words matter, leadership matters at this time. I'm proud of our chief."
Rawlings asked for everyone to focus on the officers, their families and those fighting for their lives.
"It is a heartbreaking morning to lose these four officers who proudly served our citizens," Rawlings said. "To say that our police officers put their lives on the line every day is no hyperbole, ladies and gentlemen, it's a reality."
About 11:30 p.m., a person of interest in a photo circulated by the city and Dallas police turned himself in, police said.
Another alleged suspect in a shootout with Dallas SWAT officers was taken into custody, police said.
A suspicious package was discovered near the location of the suspect in the shootout and was being secured by the Dallas police bomb squad.
Shortly before midnight, a Dallas police officer saw an individual carrying a camouflaged bag, walking quickly down Lamar Street. The person threw the bag in the back of a black Mercedes, which then sped off, police said.
Officers followed the vehicle southbound on Interstate 35E and performed a traffic stop at I-35E and Kiest Boulevard, police said.
Police questioned both occupants of the vehicle and they were released, KXAS-TV (NBC5) reported.
The shooting victims were taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital and Baylor University Medical Center, KXAS-TV (NBC5) reported.
Brown has long touted strong police-community relations in the city. Protests and rallies have typically been peaceful.
Thursday night's shooting will strain an already tight Dallas police force. Since October, 195 officers have left the Dallas Police Department. Many of those have retired, but more than 50 officers left to work at other police agencies.
In recent months, many officers have been working overtime and non-patrol officers have filled patrol shifts to respond to calls.
Bystanders reported hearing multiple shots fired shortly before 9 p.m. in the area of Market and Main streets.
People were asked to leave the immediate downtown area, some were walking and others were running. People sheltered in place in buildings around downtown. Police cleared floors of the Omni Hotel.
After injured officers were rushed to area hospitals, five DART officers gathered in a downtown hotel where they watched updates on an upstairs television.
They declined to comment on the night's events. After a suspect was reported to be in custody, they walked together back outside, solemn faced, and headed south on North Lamar Street toward a police barricade on Elm Street.
Stay-at-home mom Renee Sifflet of Dallas stood at the corner of Commerce and Houston, waiting for the chaos to die down so she could retrieve her three teenage kids, who were in hiding.
"I brought them here for a positive experience, something they could say they were part of when they're older," she said. "Then it turned negative."
When they started running, she said, she actually lost track of her 15-year-old son for two frightening minutes in the mayhem. "Thank God he has a cellphone," she said.
Carlos Harris, who lives downtown, said the shooters "were strategic. It was tap, tap, pause. Tap, tap, pause."
Harris, who said he was in the military, said he heard someone fire back with an AR-15.
Before the shots were fired, the demonstration was peacefully walking down Main Street.
"The cops were peaceful," he said. "They were taking pictures with us and everything."
Sharay Santora, who was at the rally, said the gunfire sounded like a string of firecrackers. Santora said after the first round of shots, there were a few minutes of calm, and then the firing began again.
Stacey Brown, 30 and Bianca Avery, 34, were standing behind Dealey Plaza when they heard the shots.
"This was peaceful. This was peaceful," Brown said. "We were headed back to our cars to go home. But we turned that corner (at Main Street) and all hell broke loose."
"I heard a shot and all of a sudden people are running ... children everywhere, everything," Avery said.
After Alton Sterling's shooting death this week in Baton Rouge, La., was captured on camera, a rally and march were planned in downtown Dallas. But Philando Castile's death in Falcon Heights, Minn., changed the conversation, North Texas activists said.
The men, who were both black, were killed by officers within 48 hours. Cellphone cameras captured both.
Hundreds turned out at the evening rally Thursday at Belo Gardens. The crowd then planned to march to Main Street Gardens.
"It is important to allow people to grieve first and foremost," said the Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, one of the event's organizers. "Then we want to create a space for anger and rage so people can get that out."
Both private security and Dallas police were at the rally.
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