Another tragedy. President Barack Obama addressed the Dallas shooting, which left five police officers dead, during a press conference on Friday, July 8.
As previously reported, two snipers shot 11 officers near Dealey Plaza on Thursday night. At the time, demonstrators were protesting over the deaths of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, resident Alton Sterling and Falcon Heights, Minnesota, resident Philando Castile. The two black men were both shot and killed by policeman this week.
POTUS, 54, was briefed about Dallas on Friday morning and spoke to reporters in Warsaw, Poland. “I believe I speak for every single American when I say we are horrified over these events, and we stand united with the people and the police department in Dallas,” he said.
“We will learn more, undoubtedly, about their twisted motivations, but let’s be clear: There is no possible justification for these types of attacks,” he continued. “Anyone involved in the senseless murders will be held fully accountable. Justice will be done.”
Obama, who hours earlier released a statement about Sterling and Castile, called the massacre a “vicious, calculated, despicable attack on law enforcement.” The shooting is the deadliest day for law enforcement since the September 11, 2011, attacks.
“Let me just say, even as yesterday I spoke about our need to be concerned, as all Americans, about racial discrimination in our criminal justice system. I also said our police have an extremely difficult job and the vast majority do their job in outstanding fashion,” he continued. “We also know when people are armed with powerful weapons, unfortunately it makes attacks like these more deadly and more tragic. And in the days ahead we are going to have to consider those realities as well.”
Watch Obama’s speech in the video above.
