>> announcer: tonight, a special edition of "nightline," "lethal force." tonight, breaking news. police officers become the target at a protest rally in dallas. >> we don't know where the hell he's at. >> at least five dead, seven others injured. three suspects in custody and another actively engaged in a standoff with police. >> these suspects were positioning themselves in a way to triangulate on these officers from two different perches in garages in the downtown area. and planned to injury and kill as many law enforcement officers as they could. >> meanwhile, tonight we are on the ground in baton rouge, where a community is reeling after a fatal shooting of a black man at

the hands of police. >> he's got a gun! >> and outrage across america after this video from minnesota. a woman live-streaming the fatal shooting of her boyfriend by police. >> you shot four bullets into him, sir. he was just getting his license and registration, sir. >> we'll have all the latest on a special edition of "nightline," "lethal force."

>> announcer: this is a special edition of "nightline," "lethal force." good evening. and let's get straight to the breaking news. a fresh act of madness in america. at least two snipers opening fire in downtown dallas during a rally against the fatal police shootings of black men in louisiana and in minnesota in recent days. the snipers hit 11 police officers. at least five of whom are now dead. making it the deadliest day in law enforcement since september 11th. panic and chaos in the streets of downtown dallas tonight. as gunshots ring out. in the crosshairs, police officers. >> don't shoot. >> reporter: what started as a peaceful protest in response to the recent deaths of black men at the hands of police in louisiana and minnesota, interrupted by a hail of gunfire. [ gunshots ]

>> get down! get back! >> we've got a guy with a long rifle but we don't know where the hell he's at. >> slow down. he's in the damn building right there! >> reporter: protesters running for their lives. taking cover where they could. >> take cover! >> i ended up getting shot at. >> i ran back, and i was screaming run, run, run, active shooter, active shooter. >> reporter: police say 11 officers were hit and one civilian. five of the officers are dead. several others either in surgery or in critical condition. >> we had cops in riot shields, cops with rifles going in the front. >> reporter: all the work, police say, of at least two snipers stationed atop buildings above the protest. >> these suspects were positioning themselves in a way to triangulate on these officers from two different perches in garages in the downtown area.

and planned to injury and kill as many law enforcement officers as they could. >> reporter: at this hour police say they have now arrested three suspects and they're currently negotiating with another suspect who is holed up and has been exchanging fire with officers. >> currently we are in negotiations with a suspect involved in these shootings at the garage of el centro in downtown dallas. this suspect we're negotiating with for the last 45 minutes has been exchanging gunfire with us and not being very cooperative in the negotiations. >> reporter: the suspect has apparently claimed that there are bombs planted all over downtown dallas, a threat that has provoked a massive law enforcement search, placing the heart of one of america's largest cities on lockdown. i spoke earlier to abc's adrienne bankert who's right there on the scene. >> reporter: here are some very landmark locations. union tower, clyde warren park. some beautiful spots in dallas

that locals and tourists enjoy. but right now we know this was a scene of terror just a couple of hours ago. and it's not over yet. >> reporter: city officials simultaneously dealing with an active emergency and the incalculable loss of five officers. >> i want to add that it is a heartbreaking morning to lose these four officers that proudly served our citizens. to say that our police officers put their life on the line every day is no hyperbole, ladies and gentlemen. it's a reality. >> reporter: police departments all over america tweeting out messages of support. tonight the flags at the dallas police headquarters are at half mast, and the cover of the "dallas morning news" says it all. "ambush."

much more on this disaster in dallas coming up. also coming up on "nightline," the horrifying videotape. a woman livestreaming the fatal police shooting of her boyfri d boyfriend. and it comes on the heels of this video showing white officers shooting a black suspect at point blank range. my "nightline" co-anchor byron pitts in baton rouge. ♪ take on any road with intuitive all-wheel drive. the nissan rogue, murano and pathfinder. now get 0% apr for up to 72 months, plus $500 bonus cash. ♪ dads don't take sick days, dads take nyquil severe dave, i'm sorry to interrupt. i gotta take a sick day tomorrow. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep with a cold, medicine.

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we're following the breaking news tonight. the city of dallas in shock and on lockdown tonight after snipers opened fire, killing at least five police officers. this incident comes on the heels of two videotaped police shootings of black men in recent days. one of those incidents was in

baton rouge, louisiana, which is where we find my "nightline" co-anchor byron pitts tonight. >> reporter: dan, tonight we again as a nation are struggling with what cell phone recording shows, what our hearts and minds tell us about race and justice in america. >> please don't tell me this, lord. please jesus don't tell me that he's gone. please don't tell me that he's gone. please, officer, don't tell me that you just did this to him. >> reporter: heartbreak live-streamed on facebook. a routine traffic stop turned deadly. philando castile shot dead by an officer after he allegedly reached into his back pocket for his wallet. according to his girlfriend diamond reynolds who took video of the aftermath. >> keep your hands where they are. >> i will keep my hands where they are. >> reporter: she says castile told the officer he was carrying a licensed gun. >> he's licensed to carry. he was trying to get out his i.d. and his wallet. >> reporter: and less than 48 hours earlier, another

split-second decision outside this convenience store in baton rouge, louisiana. that's alton sterling tackled to the ground by two officers who were responding to a 911 call. >> he pulled a gun on the complainant and told him he couldn't be around there. >> reporter: police show up assuming sterling is armed. but the ensuing altercation ending with their gunfire. sterling shot twice, dying on the scene. [ gunshots ] two black men killed by police. adding to the renewed and growing outrage over excessive force by cops. >> no justice, no peace! >> reporter: so many cases. according to the "washington post," in 2015 black men accounted for about 40% of the unarmed people fatally shot by police. and "the guardian" claimed young black men were nine times more likely than other americans to be killed by police officers in 2015. >> stay with me. >> reporter: 9:00 p.m. last night, falcon heights, minnesota. the moment when diamond reynolds began recording. her boyfriend, bleeding out in

the driver's seat. her daughter watching it all right behind her. >> keep your hands -- >> i will, sir. no worries. i will. [ bleep ]. he just shot his arm off. we got pulled over on larpenter. >> i told him not to reach for it! i told him to get his hand open! >> you told him to get his i.d., sir, and his driver's license. oh, my god. please don't tell me he's dead. please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that. >> just keep your hands where they are, please. >> yes, i will, sir. i'll keep my hands where they are. >> where's my daughter? you got my daughter? >> reporter: once out of the car she screams out for her daughter. >> get on your knees. get on your knees. >> they threw my phone, facebook. >> reporter: police perform cpr on castile on the street. while reynolds is detained in a patrol car, her cell phone still recording. >> i don't know if he's okay or if he's not okay. i can't really do [ bleep ] because they got me handcuffed. >> and it's really unfortunate that it was the citizen who worked to deescalate the

situation and not the officer who we believed are being trained to deescalate those sort of situations. >> reporter: after nearly ten minutes of remarkable calm, reporting to her facebook community, reynolds breaks down. her daughter comforting her. >> i can't believe they just did that. [ bleep ]. [ bleep ]. [ screaming ] >> it's okay. i'm right here with you. >> reporter: philando castile was 32 years old, a long-time employee of the st. paul public school system. today it released a statement saying, "kids loved him. he was smart, respectful and kind." the only run-in with the law was a minor traffic violation. my colleague gio benitez interviewed his grandfather sam earlier today. >> he was a good kid. i never knowed him to be in any trouble or nothing like that. >> reporter: when his girlfriend diamond reynolds left the police station early this morning she again began broadcasting live on her facebook page. >> i'm so sorry. >> they did this to my daughter. they killed -- the police killed

him in front of my daughter! >> reporter: a group of community members and media immediately began to surround her as she unpacked her pain. she voiced anger at the officer involved with the shooting. >> i want justice. he should not be home with his family. he should be somewhere in jail handcuffed. >> reporter: he's currently on paid administrative leave. >> they are here to assassinate us. >> yes, they are. >> they are here to kill us. >> murderers. >> because we are black. >> i chose to allow the video to go live ten seconds before my phone died because i wanted everybody in the world to see what the police do and how they roll. and it's not right. >> that's right. >> it's not acceptable. i didn't do it for pity. i didn't do it for fame. i did it so that the world knows that these police are not here to protect and serve us. >> it's a great thing that facebook live was a tool that helped us in the minnesota situation. but it's also a really sad

commentary that citizens of this country feel they must leave their houses with their cell phones charged in order to make sure that they're able to document these sort of incidents. >> reporter: not long after reynolds got a face-to-face apology from minnesota governor mark dayton. >> i can't tell you how sorry i am for the terrible tragedy that's been forced on you and on your family. >> i don't want you guys to be sorry. i want y'all to be more careful. >> we want justice. >> reporter: this afternoon the governor saying out loud what many were thinking. >> would this have happened if those passengers, the driver or the passenger were white? i don't think it would have. >> reporter: it's a similar question being raised everywhere. >> no justice, no peace. >> reporter: today in baton rouge a mix of seething anger, steadfast solidarity, and pain. >> the individuals involved in his murder took away a man with children who depended upon their daddy on a daily basis. >> reporter: a son grapples with

the loss of his father, alton sterling. it all started with a phone call to 911 yesterday of a man allegedly matching sterling's description, carrying a gun. >> gun in his pocket. he pulled a gun on the complainant. >> reporter: store owner abdullah muflahi says he witnessed part of the confrontation when cops arrived on the scene but his store's security camera footage was confiscated by law enforcement. and there you can see the two security cameras outside the store. the store owner tells us it would have captured the entire incident from the moment the police arrived to the moment alton sterling died. >> was he being belligerent? was he cursing at the police? was he menacing? >> not at all. he wasn't -- he just was confused. when they came up he was confused. he didn't know why, what was going on. he didn't know what they wanted from him, why they was there. he asked them what did i do wrong, what's going on? and that question was asked. they just went ahead and they weren't answering his question. >> reporter: that's when muflahi and another eyewitness begin filming with their smartphones.

sterling is wrestled to the ground by two cops trying to restrain him. >> [ bleep ]. >> reporter: both officers appear to react to something and reach for their gun. >> he's got a gun! >> gun, gun! >> you move, i swear to god. [ gunshots ] >> reporter: they fire six shots according to muflahi. bullets piercing sterling's body, killing him. afterwards we see the cops removing a small object from sterling's pocket. law enforcement has yet to confirm if it was a gun recovered from sterling. but muflahi says he saw police pull a gun from sterling's pocket. a gun authorities say sterling con legally carry because he was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm. east baton rouge district attorney stating officers stated they believed they were totally justified in using deadly force. the u.s. department of justice was brought in to investigate. particularly in question will be their encounter before the smartphone video started recording. possibly caught on that security camera footage. and what happened in the seconds right before the cop fired his gun.

>> he was partially restrained by the police officers. but his one hand was still moving. the determination of whether this was a reasonable use of fatal, or deadly force or not will be based on whether it was reasonable for those officers to believe that he with that free hand was trying to go for a possible weapon. >> reporter: and tonight questions about the backgrounds of the two police officers. blane salamoni, a four-year veteran, and howie lake ii, a three-year veteran. when i arrived on the scene yesterday, a striking observation. the intersection where the shooting happened is still packed with people. the mood here 've seen in other places, in ferguson and baltimore, with two major differences. one, no police presence. two, no violence. >> reporter: since his death this mural of alton painted outside the store he was killed in front of. and today the images of a family shaken by the sudden violent loss. >> how are you? how's the family holding up?

>> everybody's torn down. we're not broken but we're torn down. we don't have no place in our lives right now for weakness. none at all. because justice has to prevail. they slayed my nephew right here. see the stains of blood there on the ground. alton was a gentle giant. he was a big boy but he was gentle as a lamb. >> what do you hope happens? because now the justice department's controlling the investigation, are you encouraged by that? >> no. no, i'm not. >> reporter: because? >> no justice, no peace. >> reporter: her anger is palpable. >> police have promised to protect and serve us. here in louisiana they didn't do that. it's not just alton. it's so many kids here. the police run them down. they're dogs. they're damn dogs. >> reporter: her sentiments echoed by so many in baton rouge. >> byron, thank you. and next, our reporter on the scene of that ambush in downtown dallas. tonight five officers dead. we'll have the very latest. keep it here.

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♪ and we're back with the latest on the breaking news out of dallas. snipers opening fire on police officers who were on duty at a rally against fatal police shootings of black men in

louisiana and minnesota. abc's adrienne bankert is in downtown dallas. adrienne, what are you seeing at this hour? >> reporter: well, you know, dan, it's eerily quiet now. we've been hearing the police helicopter hovering up above us. and we also heard a flash bang about an hour ago. we don't know if that was an explosion from possibly the suspicious device that was reportedly found in the area or if it was something to spook the sniper, which police have been in negotiations with throughout the evening. just to recap, for those of you who are just getting all the latest information in this story, this shooting has devastated the dallas community. we're now being told five police officers including one d.a.r.t. officer were ambushed and killed tonight starting around 9:00 p.m. now, that gunfire erupting from a second story in the el centro college garage. and we know that el cent rro college is still on lockdown

with faculty and students inside. they locked down about an hour prior to the shooting as a precaution as 100 police officers gathered to protect a group of peaceful protesters in the streets of the west end neighborhood of dallas. this is normally a very quiet community, very peaceful. but we do know this, that police are not sure if they have all of the suspects in custody. at one point they reported to have three people detained. we now know there was one woman in that number. but that one sniper on the second story of the el centro garage still in contentious discussions with police, shouting out things like "the end is near" and claiming that there were bombs planted all throughout downtown dallas. police officers not confirming that that's true. but it's still an active scene in dallas tonight and a very sad night and into the morning for those who are mourning the loss of five officers who've fallen. dan? >> a terrifying evening in dallas. no question about it.

and those bomb threats of course adding to what is that lockdown in the heart of a major american city. adrienne, thank you for your reporting tonight. we really appreciate it. and again, just to recap, as she said, five dead at least in the shooting of a whole group of officers in downtown dallas. they were there on duty during what had been a peaceful protest. we'll be updating this story throughout the night on abcnews.com and abc news radio. we'll have the very latest first thing in the morning on "gma." thank you for watching "nightline," and good night. ♪ light piano today i saw a giant. it had no arms, but it welcomed me. (hawk call) it had no heart, but it was alive. (train wheels on tracks) it had no mouth, but it spoke to me. it said, "rocky mountaineer: all aboard amazing".

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