Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label Alton Sterling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alton Sterling. Show all posts

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Dallas shootings: Killer 'prepared larger attack'


Micah Johnson, handout picImage copyrightAFP
Image captionMicah Johnson left the initials 'RB' written in his own blood, police say

by Alyssa Mann and Biodun Iginla, BBC Newsbeat, Dallas
The man who shot dead five police officers in Dallas and wounded seven more was planning an even larger attack, the city's police chief says.
Micah Johnson, 25, was angry with the recent killings of black men by police and wanted to kill white officers, police say.
Police chief David Brown said he was "convinced" Johnson had wider plans.
He told CNN that Johnson, a military veteran, appeared to have practised detonating explosives.
Mr Brown also said police were trying to find the significance of the letters "RB" that Johnson had written in his own blood, near where he was killed by a remote detonation by police.
Officers were also reading a journal found in Johnson's house that Mr Brown said was proving "hard to decipher".
Mr Brown also revealed that during two hours of negotiations last Thursday, the attacker taunted police.
"He just basically lied to us - playing games, laughing at us, singing, asking how many [police officers] did he get and that he wanted to kill some more and that there were bombs there."
"So there was no progress on the negotiation... I began to feel that it was only at a split second he would charge us and take out many more before we could kill him," Mr Brown added.
Johnson launched his attack in Dallas as a protest was taking place against the deaths of black men at the hands of police.
The deaths of Philando Castile in St Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, last week led to more protests across US cities on Saturday.
Demonstrator detained near police HQ in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (9 July)Image copyrightJONATHAN BACHMAN/REUTERS
Image captionScores of arrests were made in Baton Rouge - this image by Reuters' Jonathan Bachman has been widely shared on social media
Police arrest activist DeRay McKesson during a protest along Airline Highway, a major road that passes in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters Saturday, July 9, 2016Image copyrightAP
Image captionProminent activist DeRay Mckesson was among those detained in Baton Rouge
Hundreds of people were arrested in the demonstrations nationwide. While most passed peacefully, fireworks, bottles and rocks were thrown at police in St Paul in clashes along a main interstate highway.
Close to 100 people were arrested there as 21 police officers were injured.
In Baton Rouge, several hundred protesters gathered outside the police department shouting "No justice! No peace!" and also at the convenience store where Alton Sterling was shot.
There was also tension as armed members of the New Black Panther Party stood face to face with officers in riot gear. Louisiana law allows weapons to be carried openly.
Among the 100 people held was DeRay Mckesson, who has become a national voice for the Black Lives Matter movement, and three journalists.
Mr Mckesson was freed on bond on Sunday.

At the scene: David Willis, BBC News, Dallas

Police officer with small child, Dallas (10 July)
In contrast to protesters in other parts of the country, the people of Dallas are uniting behind their police officers.
A makeshift shrine in memory of the five officers gunned down on Thursday night sprang up outside police headquarters in the Cedars district of the city within hours of the attack, and it is now a mass of flowers, balloons, stuffed toys and messages of sympathy.
Throughout the day, a constant stream of visitors have come here - black, white, Hispanic; young couples, elderly folk, little girls in sun dresses - to pay their respects, say a prayer or simply shed a tear.
An impromptu prayer session on the steps of police headquarters ended with hugs and a police officer breaking down in tears.
Earlier, a mother was overheard telling her son it was up to his generation to make things better: "This generation tried, but soon it will be up to you," she said.

"The police in Baton Rouge have been truly awful tonight," Mr Mckesson said in a livestreamed Periscope video on Saturday night.
"They have provoked people. They chase people just for kicks. The police have been violent tonight. The protesters have not.''
Media captionMillennials worry about what's in store for the next generation of black Americans
Boy looks at flowers in front of Dallas police HQ (10 July)
Image captionFlowers in memory of the murdered Dallas officers have been piling up
Other protests took place in Nashville, Indianapolis and Washington DC.
Demonstrations have continued despite an effort by President Barack Obama to soothe the tension.
On a visit to Spain on Sunday, he demanded an end to anti-police violence.
"Whenever those of us who are concerned about fairness in the criminal justice system attack police officers, you are doing a disservice to the cause," he said.
Also on Sunday, the White House said Mr Obama would travel to Dallas on Tuesday. He will speak at an interfaith memorial service.
Media captionMichael Mata of the Dallas Police Association: Police had built links with community

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Saturday, July 9, 2016

Dallas shooting: High alert over 'new security threat'


Police officers outside Dallas police's main headquartersImage copyrightAPTN
Image captionArmed police officers have been deployed at the main police headquarters in Dallas

by Alyssa Mann and Biodun Iginla, BBC Newsbeat, Dallas
Dallas police say they have heightened security at their headquarters after receiving an anonymous threat, two days after the deadly shooting in the city.
A nearby parking lot was searched for a "suspicious person", they said, but no-one was found.
SWAT officers were deployed at the main building, in effect placing it under lockdown, according to local media.
On Thursday, five white police officers were shot dead by a black man, Micah Johnson, during a protest rally.
The march was against the killing of black men by police. Two deaths this week have led to nationwide protests.
In a statement, the police said on Saturday: "The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures to heightened security."
An armoured vehicle was moved close to the main HQ in central Dallas and heavily armed officers were seen nearby, according to the Associated Press news agency.
But it added that members of the public were still able to walk about freely around the building.
The police asked media to stop all live feeds around HQ "for the safety of our officers", the BBC's James Cook reports.
The police have so far not commented on the media reports that the HQ was under lockdown.
The shooting happened late on Thursday during the protest march.
Media captionThe BBC's James Cook reports from Dallas.
Johnson, who was himself killed during the assault, supported black militant groups who encouraged violence against police.
Dallas police chief David Brown said Johnson had told a negotiator that he had wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers, because he was angry about the recent shootings of black men by police.
The attack came after the police killings of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana.

'Unity shown'

Earlier on Saturday, President Barack Obama said the US was "not as divided as some have suggested" in the wake of the shootings involving African-Americans.
He said Americans of "all races, all backgrounds", including many of those who were protesting, were outraged by the Dallas killings.
As well as the five police officers killed, another seven were injured on Thursday. Two civilians were also hurt.
Media captionMichael Mata of the Dallas Police Association: Police had built links with community
Johnson, 25, who officials say acted alone, was killed by remotely detonated explosives that were sent into a car park where he had taken refuge after the shootings.
He was a member of the US Army Reserve from 2009 to 2015 who had served in Afghanistan.
Bomb-making material, rifles and a combat journal were found his home in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite.
A number of gun attacks involving police officers and civilians have occurred in other parts of the US in the aftermath of the deaths in Minnesota and Louisiana.
Leaders of the Black Lives Matter organisation have condemned the Dallas killings but say planned marches, including a "Weekend of Rage" in Philadelphia, will go ahead.

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