President Barack Obama said Friday that America is “horrified” by a targeted shooting of police officers in Dallas, and he said there is no justification for the violence.
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“The individual who carried out the attacks in Dallas, he’s no more representative of African-Americans than the shooter in Charleston was representative of white Americans”, Obama said in reference to Dylann Roof who gunned down nine black churchgoers previous year.
Obama praised the professionalism of the Dallas police force during the attack, and emphasized that the shootings shouldn’t be seen as representing a wider political statement.
Earlier in the week, two black men were killed by officers in other U.S. cities, drawing protests across the nation.
‘The demented individual who carried out those attacks in Dallas, he’s no more representative of African-Americans than the shooter in Charleston was representative of white Americans or the shooter in Orlando or San Bernardino were representative of Muslim-Americans, ‘ Obama said, referring to a string of mass shootings in the past year. He will return to Washington Sunday night, a day ahead of schedule.
Also on the summit program is increased assistance for Iraq’s military, extension of the West’s financial commitment to the Afghan military and police, aid for Tunisia, and getting North Atlantic Treaty Organisation more involved in the campaign against the Islamic State group by authorizing use of AWACS surveillance planes to assist the USA -led coalition that is fighting the militants.
Obama is meeting with European Union leaders who also expressed their condolences for the attacks, which killed five officers. But he has scrapped a stop in the southern city of Seville and will cram two days of events into one, including meetings with interim President Mariano Rajoy and a visit with USA sailors stationed at a naval base in Rota.
“There is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion about next steps”, Obama said during a news conference in Poland.
Five police officers were shot dead and seven wounded on Thursday in an attack that has been described as one of the deadliest days for American police since the September 11 terrorist attacks.
However Texas Governor Greg Abbott said police would “continue down every rabbit trail. ensuring that we eliminate any other possible suspects or co-conspirators who may have aided this gunman in any way”.
“This is not who we want to be as Americans”, he said. Instead, he will leave Spain on Sunday night after a meeting with that country’s interim prime minister and a visit with US military personnel. “It includes family members who have grave concerns about police conduct and they’ve said that this is unacceptable”. “If you care about the safety of our police officers, you can’t set aside the gun issue and pretend it’s irrelevant”.
The rally in Dallas followed the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile, 32, near St. Paul, Minnesota, on Wednesday, and Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday.
Noting that next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the first deployment of US troops on European soil during World War One, he said: “In good times and in bad, Europe can count on the United States, always”.
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“How the negotiations work, I think is going to be up to the parties involved”, the president said Saturday. “We have to have confidence that we can build on those better angels of our nature”.
