Latest: Law enforcement official identifies slain Dallas shooting suspect, AP reports

DALLAS — A law enforcement official has identified the slain suspect in the shooting of 12 police officers and two civilians in Dallas as 25-year-old Micah Johnson, the Associated Press reported.

No information on Johnson was immediately released.

Of the 12 officers shot, five died from their wounds, officials said.

After several hours of trying to negotiate with Johnson, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said his department had no choice but to kill him with a bomb attached to a robot.

"Other options would have exposed our officers to great danger," he said. "The suspect is deceased as a result of that detonating of the bomb."

The shooting took place during a protest of fatal police shootings in other parts of the country, officials said.

Due to claims made by the gunman that he'd planted bombs in the area, Dallas police did an extensive search and said no explosives have been found.

Security was tight Friday morning with numerous streets closed to vehicle traffic in the main downtown Dallas business district hours after Thursday night's attacks.

The gunfire happened during protests over this week's fatal police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota of two black men. Police have detained at least three people in the investigation of the Dallas shootings.

The shooter told negotiators that he was mad about the Black Lives Matter movement and white people, Brown said.

"The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers," he said.

UPDATE

President Barack Obama says America is "horrified" over the shootings of police officers in Dallas and there's no possible justification for the attacks.

Obama is speaking from Warsaw, Poland, where he's meeting with leaders of the European Union and attending a NATO summit.

Obama says justice will be done and he's asking all Americans to pray for the fallen officers and their families. He also says the nation should express its gratitude to those serving in law enforcement.

Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas Thursday evening, killing five officers and injuring six others during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men.

Obama said earlier there was no contradiction between supporting law enforcement and making certain biases in the justice system are rooted out.

UPDATE

Police say a fifth officer has died after snipers opened fire on police at a rally in Dallas. Six other officers were injured.

The gunfire broke out Thursday night while hundreds of people were gathered to protest fatal police shootings this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown said three people are in custody and a fourth suspect was exchanging gunfire with authorities in a parking garage downtown early Friday.

Police initially said three people were killed in the shooting. That number rose late Thursday to four. By Friday morning, five officers were confirmed dead, according to the Dallas Police Association.

Brown told reporters the snipers fired "ambush style" upon the officers. Police later said at a news conference that Dallas SWAT officers were negotiating with a suspect who fired multiple shots at them and a person of interest had surrendered. They said a suspicious package was being secured by a bomb squad.

Three other people were in custody -- a woman, whose connection to the shooting was not immediately clear, and two people who sped away from the scene after a Dallas police officer spotted them throwing camouflage bags into a vehicle, Brown said.

According to the official Twitter page for Dallas Area Rapid Transit, four DART officers were shot. One of those officers has died.

The gunfire broke out around 8:45 p.m. Thursday. Live TV video showed protesters marching along a street in downtown Dallas when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.

A witness told KTVT, "Whoever was shooting had an assault rifle — and I know guns. The shots were in rapid succession."

Scores of police and security officers were on hand. Police and others hunched behind cars outside a parking garage. Officers with guns drawn were running near and into the parking garage as police searched for the shooter.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw officers entering an Omni hotel building on the southwest side of downtown. TV cameras also showed officers carrying shields going into a bank building.

Please check back for details.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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