Summary: A victim of the Dallas sniper attack told the press that she is “sorry” for what happened but “so thankful” for the police.
Shetamia Taylor was a civilian shot during Thursday’s deadly sniper attack in downtown Dallas. She was hit in the leg and is expected to recover fully, WFAA 8 ABC reported. During a press conference, she became emotional as she described the ordeal, which killed 5 and injured 11 police and DART officers.
Taylor, who is African-American, said that she and her family were at the Black Lives Matter gathering to protest nationwide police brutality. She described the scene as “peaceful” and “very nice,” and she said that her 12-year-old son was excited to “be a part of history” and “to march.” But then her voice cracked as she recalled hearing the gunshots and being near a white police officer who had been shot. She said that as he went down he told her, “He has a gun. Run.”
Taylor then described feeling a bullet hit the back of her leg. She then cried as she recalled seeing a second officer get shot, and she said she was “so thankful for the Dallas Police” and that they had “no regard for their own lives.”
According to authorities, the sniper attack was committed by Micah Xavier Johnson, 25. The African-American army veteran was reportedly angry at white people, and police stated they found a large amount of bomb-making materials at his apartment. They suspect he was going to commit a larger act of terrorism, but that the recent police shootings of black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, may have prompted him to act quicker.
On the evening of the attack, Johnson was cornered by police in a parking lot and subsequently killed.
Today, Dallas police chief David Brown described what had happened that night before he stated that crime has decreased sharply in Dallas in the past few years. Other media outlets report that Dallas has a good reputation for police transparency and race relations amongst police and citizens.
Brown, who is African-American, urged protestors to do more than protest, USA Today reported. He asked that they join the force and make changes from within.
“Don’t be a part of the problem. We’re hiring,” Brown said. “Get out of the protest line and put an application in. We’ll put you in your neighborhood.”
In other parts of the country, Black Lives Matter protests continue with some marchers walking on roads and stopping traffic.
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