Flint mayor offers condolences to Dallas on police slayings

After gunmen shot and killed five police officers and wounded seven others in Dallas during a protest over fatal police shootings of black men elsewhere, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Friday that “violence in any form is unacceptable”. “What can they learn from Dallas before the shooting?”

Before dying, the police chief said, the suspect declared to officers that he was upset about recent shootings and wanted to kill whites, “especially white officers”.

Addressing a midday prayer service in the Texas city, Mayor Mike Rawlings voiced his determination to tackle head-on the root causes of Thursday’s rampage, which comes at a time of soul-searching over the use of lethal force by U.S. police, especially towards African-Americans.

“We extend our deepest condolences to members of the Dallas Police Department, Mayor Rawlings and the entire community of Dallas, Texas”, the joint statement from Weaver and Johnson said. “May our thoughts and prayers bring you some comfort during this very hard time”.

Thursday’s attacks appeared to be the deadliest day for USA law enforcement since the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Police chief David Brown, appearing on CNN, declined to answer questions about gun control, but made it clear that the prevalence of armed protesters – many who donned gas masks and had AR-15-style rifles slung over their shoulders – added to the confusion. Authorities initially said three suspects were in custody and a fourth dead. Two civilians also were wounded.

CBS’s John Dickerson pointed out that before last week’s shooting massacre, which claimed the lives of five police officers, “Dallas was actually a model for community and police relations”.

He said police recruitment is down across the nation.