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tv   Wolf  CNN  July 8, 2016 10:00am-11:01am PDT

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in every situation, it is not the same. going against the situation. >> i am about to lose kamau's window in about ten seconds. i need a line from you about what you are going to tell your daughter. >> she shouldn't be surprised if she comes home and finds out one day that daddy has been killed by a police officer. >> i was hoping you weren't going to say that. >> that picture is spectacular. donnell raulings, appreciate you. thanks everyone for watching legal view. my colleague, wolf blitzer is going to continue the coverage for cnn right now. hello. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. wherever you are watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. right now, people are gathered at thanksgiving square in downtown dallas, texas. they are praying for the victims of the tragic ambush.
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five officers were killed. seven others were injured in the shootings. two civilians were also hit. we now know the name of the shooting, micah ex zxavier john. the shots rang out at the end of at black lives matter protest. here is how it looked from the ground.
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>> i see police officers also running for their life. i see some of them with masks. i see some of them, the s.w.a.t. team, some with the shield. i see some grabbing their arms, huge guns i have never seen before. i saw a hummer truck rolling through. at that point, i thought to myself, this is real. this isn't a game. >> here is the police phone call
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from the scene. >> officers shots fired from the scene. code 3. officer down. we have a guy with a long rifle but we don't know where the hell he is at. >> he is in the dam building right there. >> we have got to get dsc down here right now. 169, get them here! >> we're on our way. >> we believe possibly in the el centro building. >> inside the el centro building. >> police took cover behind their cars as the shootings continue. they also sprang into action to move protesters and the news media out of the possible line of fire. we have video of the shooting taken from a window across the street. it shows one person firing at police. watch this.
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>> here is what the same area looks like today. you can see all the small yellow markers on the ground, each marks shell casings which shows you just how many shots were fired. the suspect was later killed by police but not before he explained his motive. here is the dallas police chief. >> the suspect said he was upset about black lives matter. he said he was upset about the recent police shootings. the suspect said he was upset at white people. the suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, specially white officers. the suspect stated he will
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eventually -- that we will eventually find the ieds. the suspect stated he was not affiliated with any groups and he stated that he did this alone. i'm not going to be satisfied until we have turned over every stone. we have got some level that this one suspect did do some of the shooting. we're not satisfied we have exhausted every lead. we are not going to be satisfied that every lead was exhausted. if there is someonous there associated with this, we will find you and we will prosecute you and we will bring you to justice. we don't feel much support most days. let's not make today most days. please, we need your support.
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to be able to protect you from men like these who carried out this tragic, tragic event. strong words from the dallas police chief, david brown. >> let's talk about what's happening in dallas. bha we are learning abo what we are learning about the shooter in dallas. we want to bring on sara sidner and kiong log and ed lauvendera from mesquite, texas, the home of this dallas shooter, micah xavier johnson. >> reporter: we have been here in the neighborhood where officers started arriving around 1:00 this morning in the house
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behind me serving out warnings throughout the morning. we have seen officers pulling out minibrown bags of evidence. we have spoken with some neighbors who say that micah johnson was a recluse. after his time serving in afghanistan, he had returned as a different person. one neighbor told us that micah johnson told them ha he he had e amount of rifles with him. it has been a chaotic and hectic morning here in this neighborhood just east of dallas where the shooting took place, a neighborhood where several residents tell us they didn't know much about micah johnson, not someone they routinely saw wondering the neighborhood or saw outside of his home very much. a great deal of interest from the law enforcement agencies that have been here that just finished wrapping up their work here a little while ago in removing the last bag of
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evidence. as i mentioned, they have been here since 1:00 in the morning, perhaps a little bit after that. all of that going on while the suspect was engaged in that standoff with officers in downtown dallas. those officers arriving here and converging on this neighborhood very quickly, early this morning. >> what else do we know about his military background? he served in the u.s. army reserve, was activated and sent to afghanistan. what else do we know? >> in 2013, 2014, served a year in afghanistan, had spent six years or so in the military. this is a runout of history that has been provided by pentagon officials. we haven't heard much from people that served alongside of him. the neighbors we have had a chance to speak with in these initial hours don't say much about him other than a few people that say that he was
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reclusive and that they didn't know much about him. obviously, this has come as a stunning surprise to many people who live around him. >> he certainly knew how to fire a weapon. sarah, the original belief was there were probably multiple shooters given the amount of volume and shots that were fired. what are you hearing from police right now? >> reporter: well, the amount of shots and also that witnesses saw the shooter. he had so much ammunition. it was literally falling out of his pocket. we just talked about witnesses. police have said what they are going to say about the man taken into custody. they said he acted alone. they are still in the midst of an investigation. you heard the police chief talking about the fact that if anyone else is involved in this in any way, they will be found
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and brought to justice. we talked to a witness who was above all of this looking down from a hotel room with his 13-year-old son. he said he is african-american. his son is african-american. he was going to take him down to let him get an idea of what the black lives matter movement is all about and what the marches was also about, the anti-police brutality is all about. as he was thinking about bringing him down there, shots rang out. he had his son. they ran up to their hotel room and they looked down and his son being 13 with his phone decides, i'm going to take some pictures. he starts p taking videos and he sees something that will never leave him now. he says he doesn't think he can ever forget what he saw. he saw the gunman shooting someone down. he saw the blasts. he was terrified and his father yanked him away from that window. there are some stories we are hearing time and again. a father trying to teach his son
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how to engage with police and why someone would decide to kill police in this way. a dual lesson his father is grappling with. people were talking about police brutality. the police officers saved our lives pushing us out of the way as this gunfire was coming. you heard ut police chief saying, let's stop being divisive. >> i want to go to kyung lah over at the hospital. we know some about the victims and police and civilians. what are you hearing about the conditions of those who are being treated? >> reporter: we don't have any specific conditions on all the people that are being treated. we don't have an exact number. the city trying to take that extra step in trying to protect
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these officers families and the reason why, when i reached out to the city and to the mayor's office, they said, if you sit there and talk with these families, you get a sense of shot. they are simply stunned. they are shocked. they are overcome with grief. we saw that spilling out of the emergency room in the early morning hours as ambulances were still arriving here and as police officer's bodies were being removed from here. we are told that seven of the police officers that were wounded, they in various stages are expected to be released, they are ekts ped to survive. five of those police officers did not survive. today, in the overnight hours last night into today, this is the deadliest incident for police, for law enforcement since 9/11. five law enforcement p killed. among the people, 43-year-old brent thompson.
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he is a dallas area rail transit officer. he is 43 years old. we know that he spent some time overseas in iraq and afghanistan. his police chief said he had just recently been married. wolf? >> i want to go to the vigil that is underway now. the dallas police chief, david brown, he is speaking. >> in the police profession, we are very comfortable with not hearing thank you from citizens specially that need us the most. so today feels like a different day than the days before this tragedy, because you are here, because dallas is a city that loves. our officers want to say that we
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are hurting and we need this community. we need citizens to show officers that they appreciate their sacrifice. >> i am going to have to say some short, very brief comments and head back to police headquarters to continue our investigation. just to give you an update on what is transpiring, through our investigation of some of the suspects, it's revealed to us that this was a well-planned, well thought out evil tragedy by
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these suspects. we won't rest until we bring everyone involved to justice. i want to say thank you to our federal law enforcement partners. i want to say thank you to our state law enforcement partners, to our state, political delegation, to our federal political delegation for all the offers of support and help that you have given. our officers are going to need counseling for a very long time. our officers are going to need to hear from you more than just today, that you appreciate their
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sacrifice. we are determined to not let this person steal this democracy from us. and to finish out the comments, i really want to say to the mayor, to the city manager and the city council, thank you for the support. thank you. and to the citizens of dallas, this is my hometown. i'm a third generation dallasite, home grown, big "d." i want to say thank you to all of you for your show of support today. we feel this today. this is something that you have shown us that you really do care. so thank you so much and god's
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speed, god's speed. thank you. thank you. thank you. >> thank you, chief brown. let us bow our heads and pray for our first responders, the men and women that give their lives protecting and defending each one of us. we know that both love and charity abound in this world and even in times of violence, god does not turn away from us. we lament the senseless loss of life since last night. we stand in solidarity with all those who continue to suffer the effects of this tragedy in the
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city of dallas, specially the men, the women of our police department. in the words of the psalmist, lord, my god, we call out to you by day. at night, we cry aloud in your presence. let our prayer come before you. incline your ear from our cry. from our souls is filled with trouble. all day long, we cry to you, lord. on this day, we stretch out our hands to you. together, this day, with the knowledge of the tragedy that our city and specially our law enforcement community has experienced, let us place our trust in god. and ask for a renewal of god's love and generous protection. may the leaders of this city
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know of our support and confidence. may those who protect us let us show that we support them each and every day. prompted by the goodness that is within each of us, we pray as the old st. francis prayer teaches us that each person in our community will become an instrument of peace that we walk away today bringing love where there is hatred and hope where there is darkness and joy where there is great sadness. may all mighty god hear the prayer of this community on this day and may he stretch out his hands to touch the men and women who give their lives for each one of us. it reminds us of the words of
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scripture, there is no greater love than one who gives his life for the protection of others. our police officers deserve our support and our prayer. may god stretch out to them in their pain and in their suffering on their day. >> a prayer service underway in dallas in memory of those five police officer slain overnight. seven other police officers injured. two civilians injured as well. we also just heard from the dallas police chief, david brown, who said this was a very well-planned, sophisticated operation. he used the word suspects. the sniper was killed but there may be other suspects at larn-l. he said they will not rest until
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all the people are arrested and brought to justice. he did suggest there may be other individuals at-large. other individuals were arrested, detained. we are following this part of the story, a very significant moment right now. the dallas police chief saying this was a well-planned operation. we are also getting reaction from the white house right now in the form of flags being lowered to half-staff over at the white house. lowered to honor the five killed in dallas. we heard directly from president obama who spoke about the tragedy in the nato summit he is attending in warsaw, poland. >> we still don't know all of the facts. what we do know is that there has been a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law
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enforcement. police in dallas were on duty doing their jobs, keeping people safe during a peaceful protest. i believe i speak for every single american when i say we are horrified over these events and we stand united with people and the police department in dallas. there is no possible justification for these kind of attacks or any violence against law enforcement. the fbi is already in touch with the dallas police and anyone involved in these senseless murders will be held fully accountable. justice will be done. the president of the united states speak ng warsaw. coming up, campaign events here in the united states put on hold after this tragedy in dallas. we are going to tell you what hillary clinton and donald trump have to say about the shootings. there were shootings that resulted in the death of five police officers. much more right after this.
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. >> our hearts are with the dallas police department. our hearts are with the victims and specially with their loved ones. they wear the badge too. >> we must learn to live together as brothers and sisters. if not, we will perish at fools. >> just heard from the house speaker, paul ryan and john lewis up on capitol hill responding to the horrific dallas shootings of these police
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officers. hillary clinton postponed her rally. donald trump postponed his travel today. >> hillary clinton tweeting, i mourn for the officers shot while doing their sacred duty to protect peaceful protesters for their families and all who serve with them. >> trump's campaign put out a station that called the shootings an attack on our country and that our nation has become too divided, too many americans feel like they're lost hope. that statement from donald trump. congressman pete sessions, represents the dallas area. he is joining us now live from capitol hill. let me offer our condolences to you and all the people that are suffering from dallas.
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o. >> have you been updated? >> he expects those that did not pass away, he expects them to recover and be out of the hospital quickly. >> we too as a community and country are lucky we did not lose more police officers. >> when you heard overnight about these horrific killings, the massacre of these five police officers, what was your immediate reaction, congressman? >> well, i was watching, actually in my home here in washington and ran up to the office very quickly and watched it unfold directly in front of us. it took a while for the development of this to happen. what was very apparent to me quickly was the police officers, the dallas police department, the d.a.r.t., which is our transit police, these two
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agencies were participating with the citizens in a peaceful march. they were with people that were expressing themselves about a problem. they were showing they not only understood it but they gave credence to that. we want officers to be able to have the empathy to be able to understand the needs not only of whether it is african-americans or hispanics or other people. we want them to be able to have the empathy. it turned into a tragedy, an ambush that was aimed at these officers. it became apparent that's what this was all about. >> we are learning about the shooter, the sniper, this individual, micah johnson, no criminal record or no ties to terror. he did serve in the u.s. army reserve. he was activated and spend a
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year serving with the u.s. military in afghanistan. what else have you learned about him and his motives? >> i don't know that we know a lot about his motive but there were direct discussions with him responding to the activities that had occurred perhaps in louisiana and we believe for sure in minnesota. he was motivated by those and felt some bit of remorse to that and wanted to take it out as he stated on these officers and on the community. i also heard he was recently married. for a man to get engaged like this simply reinforces why our country and our leaders of our country instead of subscribing just one answer, we need to go back to our communities in dallas. the problems may be different in
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orlando or san bernardino or chicago. we need to include as we do in dallas, because we are proud of who we are. we are a proud people wech. we have had problems in the past. we attempt to overcome those through a dialogue and direct conversation and addressing the issue and hope it will not happen again. our churches will be full on sunday with people seeking to offer spiritual support to these communities and the law enforcement communities and the families and the victims. we believe we can work through and overturn whatever impediments lie in the way by a direct conversation. we are going to do that. >> one final question. the police chief, david brown, in dallas, he just said they will find all the suspect that is are involved. he said it was sophisticated,
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well planned. he seems to be suggesting that it wasn't just this one shooter that was involved. have you been told there was a broader conspiracy here. i believe what he is looking at is a number of what might be pieces of information perhaps from cell phones or perhaps direct information in talking to the suspects. i fly back into dallas and expect to get a more detailed briefing. any speculation based upon a set of information that we can subscribe to would not be correct. that, i believe, is where he is going. data and information that he learns as a result of speaking to these other three people. and the cell phones or other means of communication. >> he specifically said it was a
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well-planned operation. that's from the police chief, david brown, in dallas. >> he did. they have these other three people in custody. the police count on their ability to interview these people to gain that real fact and the factors of the case. you remember that they had a rather long dialogue with this micah person, the perpetrator, the criminal that was one of the shooters. they had a very long dialogue with him and were able to ascertain much about him, much about his thinking and much about his motives and planning. he even told, as we all know, the police and i place other bombs and other things to cause harm to you directly, to cause there to be problems. very dangerous, dangerous man. >> it was chilling. he said he wanted to kill white
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people, specially white police officers. >> congressman pete sessions of texas, thank you very much. we will stay in close touch with you. >> wolf, thank you very much. >> i the major of dallas, mike ra raulings is now speaking at that prayer service. i want to listen in. >> today, we find ourselves here again and this time, the terror has hit us right here in downtown dallas just a few blocks away. the worst attack on law enforcement in our city's history and the worst attack on law enforcement since 9/11. we have faced challenges in the decade since this square was built and we are facing challenges today. we must start if we are going to face those challenges with an
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attitude change. an attitude of humility, of gratitude, that this square was built on. we are thankful for our lives. others lost them last night. we are thankful for families. other families lost that last night. we are thankful for our city. y yes. we are thankful for each other. that is why we are here today just hours after this act of evil. we are here this diverse group of leaders and elected officials to honor the five police officers who have lost their lives, to pray for them and their fellow officers that are still alive and working for us. we are here to face our challenges head on as pastor
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carter talked. we will not shy away from the very real fact that we as a city, as a state, as a nation, are struggling with racial issues. they continue to divide us. yes, it is that word race. we have to attack it head on. i will tell you this is on my generation of leaders. it is on our watch that we have allowed this to continue to fester, that we have led the next generation down a vicious path of rhetoric and actions that pit one against the other. so i'm with you, senator west, we have to change. i believe in dealing with this issue, we must step up our game
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and approach complicated issues in a different way. race i complicated. as f scott fitzgerald said, the test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time and retain the ability to function. i think we can do that. the question is, can we as citizens speak against the actions of a relatively few officers that blemish the reputation of their high calling and at the same time, support and defend the 99% of officers that do their job professionally, honestly and bravely. this is the men and women that
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were shot last night. i think we can and i think we must. can we as a community truly and deeply understand the pain that racial discrimination and the greatest sin in america, slavery, has created through history? can we understand that? yet, accept god's grace of forgiveness and put yesterday's battles aside to address and build a city in a country that dr. king dreamt of. can we do that? can we do it by being honest about today's shortcomings and building a society that truly gives all citizens what we all love, the opportunity for life, liberty and the pursuit of
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happiness. i think we can. today is a prayer service. so i get to quote st. paul p. in the end, three things remain. faith, hope, and love. we need all three today. we must have faith in each other, in our institutions. we must have hope and believe that tomorrow will be better. it will. we must love one another, because if we don't, this cancer of separtism will kill this
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body. but i choose those words and i believe this city will be better and see better days because of the lives that were lost last night. god bless dallas. god bless texas. >> the mayor of dallas, texas, mike rawlings, speaking emotionally at this prayer service. we are getting some new information right now about the identity of one of the police officers killed in this sniper attack. this is the dallas police officer patrick zamaripa, a father of two, a u.s. navy veteran, who had been deployed to bahrain in the persian gulf as part of the iraq war effort. he was killed in the ambush on police officers overnight.
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our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fellow officers. this is the second police officer who has now been identified as one of the victims of this ambush. brent thompson was the police officer from the d.a.r.t., dallas area rapid transit system, also killed, 43 years old. brent thompson was recently married. he also served in iraq and afghanistan as a security officer for the u.s. military. brent thompson also killed in this horrific, horrific slaughter. just ahead, a police involved shooting death of an african-american man in new york hours before his wedding grabbed national attention. we will talk to sean bell's fiancee about the shootings in louisiana and minnesota. also, the slaughter of police officers in dallas. much more as our breaking news coverage continues. d 26 vitamins and minerals.
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for a free quote, call liberty mutual at switch to liberty mutual and you could save up to $509 call today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. now, after the events of this week, americans across our country are feeling a sense of helplessness, of uncertainty as of fear. these feelings are understandable and justified. the answer must not be violence.
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the answer is never violence. >> the attorney general of the united states loretta lynch resetting our top story right now. police in dallas say micah xavier johnson ambushed and massacred police officers. police say the 25-year-old u.s. army reservist told them he wanted to kill white people, specially white police officers. >> there are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city. all i know is that this must stop. this divisiveness between our police and our citizens. >> before the recent police shooting deaths of two african-american men in louisiana and minnesota, there was the shooting death of sean
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bell, nearly ten years ago. new york city police officer fired 50 times into his car. two friends were wounded. three detectives were charged in the shooting. they were all acquitted on all counts but were forced out of the nypd. a judge ruled police had legitimate reason to believe someone in the car was armed based on conversations they heard at a nightclub and the fact that bell tried to drive away from the police officers. joining us now is nicole paul bell. she was bell's fiancee and took his name in his honor. thanks very much for joining us. i want to get your unique perspective on what we have seen in louisiana, minnesota and now in dallas. your thoughts? >> oh, man. first and foremost, i have to send my love, my support and all faith to all of the families of the men who lost their lives
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over these past few days, the officers who lost their lives as well as the victims of police violence who lost their lives. these families now have to learn how to mourn and how to pick up the pieces and how to now remain positive p with so much p violence that has happened. it is really just very unbelievable at this point. i've been fighting and advocating with many leaders and many elected officials for almost ten years. every time another person >> what advice do you have for the people who are suffering right now? >> well, the advice is, there is really no advice. the only thing you can do is seek your faith and surround yourself with positive people, and continue to remain positive. violence cannot drive out
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violence. it only multiplies the problem. we have seen that before. and now, we have a community who's conflicted and broken, like we were in the past. every time another person is killed. and the only way we're going to get what we all want is when those who commit crimes are held accountable, no matter who they are. >> have you seen the video philando castile's fiancee as she live streamed her boyfriend dying in the aftermath. if you did, what did you think when you saw that? >> it was completely horrific. i lost my fiance back in 2006, and i got a phone call. that was horrific. to actually be there and to see your loved one take their last breath when they were only doing what they were asked to do, it's -- it's even right now at this moment, i'm still lost for
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words. i watched the video and it's like reliving an ongoing nightmare. >> when you heard that the shooter in dallas said that he was motivated by, i guess he was motivated by hatred. he said he wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers. it's so shocking to hear that. that coming from the dallas police chief, david brown, who himself is an african-american, as you probably know. what did you think? what was your reaction when you heard that? >> it's, you know, completely really disgusting at this point. we have seen so many people lose their lives. regardless of color or race, it's a human life that's lost. i understand that communities are outraged because when police officers commit crimes, they're not held accountable. but there's absolutely, absolutely no room for more blood to be shed on these streets. there are children that are
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involved, and i'm sure those police officers, they were either sons or husbands. and they had families theirselves, but we have to remember, as a community member, we have to remember that if we continue to use guns, which are the reason, which is the cause, the problem, the reason why we're outraged, the reason why we're marching, the reason why we're rallying behind elected officials, if we continue to use those very same tools, we're going to be back at square one. more bloodshed, and at this time, it's really time for everyone to organize. first mourn our community, our nation has to heal. but we need to organize. there needs to be more conversation about improving police and community relations because it's only getting worse on both sides of the fence. and everyone needs justice at this point. everyone. >> nicole paultre bell, thank you so much for joining us. our condolences, obviously, to you as well.
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thank you very much. >> thank you. >> let's talk more about the shooting, the effects it could have throughout the country. i want to bring in law enforcement analyst, former fbi assistant director tom fuentes and the former house intelligence committee chairman mike rogers. also joining us, former executive director of the congressional black caucus, angela eyre. >> tom, you heard the news this hour, the dallas police chief, david brown, saying they're going to bring other suspects, whoever they may be, to justice. that's priority number one. right now, he says this was a well planned operation. >> well, that tells me that when they looked at the subject that was killed last night, they looked at his either computers or his cell phone or whatever, that there were indications that he was talking to someone else, planning this, possibly, with other people, and that he wasn't all by himself as he told the police. >> mike rogers, before you served in congress, you were an
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fbi agent yourself. how do you stop a killer like this who u.s. army reservist, served in afghanistan. obviously, he knew how to fire a weapon. he had a lot of ammunition. he goes up high and starts targeting police officers. how do you deal with that? >> well, if he was the only one that is nearly impossible. if he hadn't had any other communication. i think clearly, i agree with tom. he clearly had some communication with someone. there are some eyewitness accounts of people with camouflage bags getting and exiting in a hurry. the police chief indicated today he believes there's someone else engaged in this. it's an intelligence-based investigation. you have to be connected to the community, and the community has to want to stop crime as well. that's the only way you're going to stop an event like this. >> angela, i know you're the former executive director of the congressional black caucus. when you see what's going on, i want to get your thoughts right now. you have unique perspective on what happened in louisiana, what happened in minnesota, now
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what's happened in dallas. we heard from members of the congressional black caucus earlier today. they are clearly outraged. what needs to be done? >> well, several things, wolf. i think we have to stop looking at gun violence like it's a partisan issue. human blood was shed. white people, latino people, black people. the two black men who we talked about all week, alton sterling and of course, philando castile. we have to deal with these issues at a policy level. we cannot afford any longer to pretend like these issues will joust go away. folks push back on background checks and say it wouldn't have caught probably this shooter or the shooter in orlando. the reality is there are far too many loopholes and every barrier can be knocked down because we pretend these things will disappear, that people will rely on their better nature, and we can't do that anymore. you heard loud and clear from the cbc members today and you saw them during the sit-in just a week and a half ago that this must end. that means that congress must in
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fact act. we cannot do this alone. people are outraged. they're frustrated. they're hopeless, and this is the type of thing that happens when people reach this level of hopelessness. >> you know, congressman mike rogers, you served in congress for a long time. there's a real divide there. there's no movement, at least there hasn't been in years in terms of greater gun restrictions, for example, on assault-type weapons. that's what the congressional black caucus wants. a lot of democrats want it. but a lot of republicans are resisting. >> and i think there are some compromise bills, one coming out of the senate. they're going to find a solution to it. >> you think so? >> i do, except here's my concern with this. we are all fooling ourselves if we think that this one highly charged political issue is going to stop this problem. we have a rhetoric problem in this country. we have heated ipon everything instant that happens to a point on both sides, by the way, where it's driving people. this person says he was driven to do this. and then conspired with others to do this. that is a bigger problem.
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that is a much bigger problem. each individual of these law enforcement cases should be judged individually. there's a 21% increase, excuse me, 31% increase in police officer shootings, meaning police officers are killed at a 30% higher rate this year than they were over last year. that tells you that there is a bigger problem. and rhetoric matters. so we're going to have to start dealing with real problems in these communities. the fact that the graduation rates are all hovering around 0 50%. there's no job opportunities. those are the real problems breeding what i think is hate and discontent, and then you do an issue like this, sprinkle on some hot rhetoric, you have somebody climbing up in a tower and shooting people. >> angela, go ahead. >> sorry, a couple things. i'm sure we don't have time to bring up graduation rates right now at a time like this is horrible. so let me just first say that the man actually said the exact opposite of what former congressman rogers said. he said he acted alone. he said that he was upset about
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black lives matter and he said he wanted to kill white people. i'm not endorsing any of that. what i will tell you is to act as if this plan who said he was upset about black lives matter was acting on behalf of an organization, a movement that is simply trying to insure that black lives, black people survive in this country. you brought up numbers of death in communities and the number of people who are shooting police. let me just drop this number on you. 559. that's the number so far of people who have been shot and killed by police officers this year. i am horribly sorry and heartbroken about what happened in dallas, but i would be remiss if i didn't act like black lives didn't matter today. that's what you see from the families of the people who lost their husbands and sons and boyfriends for no reason. i will not act as if it's a political issue. i'm livid and frustrated by the
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reduction of those lives to graduation rates and community issues that can be sauved not only by people like you, mr. rogers, but members of the hill who have to take it on. >> i'm not on the hill anymore, but i will tell you, if we don't deal the problems with these comupts, you can talk about guns all day long. the problem is here we have bigger sets in urban america all across the country. >> don't victim blame. >> nobody is saying that black lives don't matter. i think that candidly is a political slogan in a year to try to divide americans. >> no t is not. >> what we have to do is deal with the circumstances in each one of these cases. deal with education and police departments. all of that is really important. cultural sensitivity in police departments, especially in urban america, very important, but so are all of the other problems. lack of opportunity in america is literally leading to the deaths of american citizens, and i don't care what color they are. if we don't deal with those issues, all of this won't matter. >> angela --
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>> deemed inherently violent is the problem. that is the problem. deal with that rhetoric. >> nobody says that. >> a lot of people say that. >> we're going to continue this conversation. there's a lot to assess. angela, thank you very much. mike rogers, tom fuentes, thanks to you as well. i have to leave it right now. but our special coverage continues right here on cnn. >> wolf, thank you very much. i'm don lemon in today for brooke baldwin. we're going to begin with five police officers dead. a national tragedy at the hands of a mass murderer who according to police went on a hunt for white officers. the killer's name, the police chief says, is micah xavier johns johnson. an army reservist who served in afghanistan. they say he used sniper tactics and killed five dallas police officers as they were downtown protecting protesters. the gunfire sent demonstrators and others