Obama condemns “vicious, calculated” Dallas attacks

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President Barack Obama vowed to hold anyone involved in the deadly shootings of police officers in Dallas accountable for what he described as a “vicious, calculated and despicable attack,” The Wall Street Journal reports.

Obama said Friday, July 8 that the Dallas police officers, who were on duty during a protest in response to the fatal shootings this week of two black men by law enforcement in Louisiana and Minnesota, were intentionally targeted. He said multiple suspects were in custody and pledged federal government support for the investigation into the attack.

“We are horrified over these events,” Obama said in remarks from Warsaw, where he is attending an international summit.

Five police officers were killed and six wounded Thursday night in Dallas by snipers who opened fire during a protest against police brutality.

The protest was in response to the fatal shootings by police of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., on Tuesday and Philando Castile, who was shot after he was pulled over for a traffic violation in a suburb of Minneapolis and St. Paul, on Wednesday. Police said both men were armed at the time they were killed.

Obama addressed the shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota early Friday morning after arriving in Poland before the attack in Dallas. During his remarks, he blamed the shootings on racial biases while making the case that police officers play a vital role in keeping communities safe, WSJ says.

“There’s a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if because the color of their skin they’re not being treated the same,” Obama said. “And that should trouble all of us.”