5 Dallas Shooting Facts: What We Know So Far

Last night, a protest in Dallas turned very deadly when snipers opened fire on Police in an ambush. The Dallas shooting has left at least 5 officers dead and 7 wounded, with some civilian victims wounded as well. While all the details are still surfacing, here are some things we know right now.

1.) One suspect has been confirmed dead.

During a standoff with police, an unidentified suspect for the shootings said that he acted alone, he was specifically targeting white officers, and that he was upset by recent police shootings. He has now been confirmed dead after a bomb was detonated by authorities. Dallas police Chief David Brown was quoted by CNN saying:

"We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension for it to detonate where the suspect was... Other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger. The suspect is deceased as a result of detonating the bomb."

2.) Three other suspects are currently in custody.

Police have yet to release any information about possible motives for these other suspects, but they are currently being detained and questioned about their involvement in the shooting. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings has said the suspects were "being pretty tight-lipped,"about the shooting. But the motive seems to be the same. "It's simple ... they wanted to kill police officers. And sadly, they did."

3.) Among those killed was officer Brent Thompson, a former Marine who had served in Iraq.

[caption id="attachment_4970" align="alignnone" width="300"]

Brent Thompson, DART officer who was killed in yesterday's attack Photo Credit: Dallas Area Rapid Transit[/caption]Thompson was a part of DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit agency), which runs buses and commuter rail in the city and surrounding suburbs. Brent was 43, and was the first DART officer killed in the line of duty. He had just been married to a fellow DART officer two weeks prior.

4.) 12 officers in total were shot, and several are currently in surgery.

This is the deadliest single incident for police officers in America since the terrorist attacks on September 11th. We don't have updated information at this time on the status of remaining officers.

5.) One former FBI Agent has stated that this attack required planning in advance.

Retired FBI Special Agent Steve Moore stated that,

"This was an attack planned long before -- waiting for an opportunity to go... I think there was so much logistically, ammunition-wise. They may not have planned the location, they may not have planned the vantage point. But they had prepared for an attack before last night's shooting is my guess."

Our thoughts are with the families of the officers killed in the line of duty.