DALLAS – KSAT-12 Digital Journalist Adrian Garcia is in Dallas following the latest on the Dallas police shootings.
He is producing web exclusive content for KSAT’s entire news group, Graham Media Group. These are stories you will only see on KSAT.com.
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Thursday night an armed man opened fire on police in Dallas after a Black Lives Matter rally through downtown.
Gun shots rang out
Ossie Bodie with K104.1 FM participated in the rally and said he and a co-worker were trying to find a place to sit when gunshots rang out.
Bodie said he ran for safety and then immediately started working, keeping radio listeners up to date on what was happening in downtown Dallas.
Mobile users click here to see the entire videos of Ossie Bodie and Marcus Carter.
Another witness to the shooting, Marcus Carter, said he is weary of police shootings where black men are killed. The Black Lives Matter supporter said he is “tired.” He said the shooter did nothing to advance the cause he claimed to support.
“Just because the individual had a badge, you kill him? Like mercilessly. That’s not cool,” Carter said.
'I wish I could say I am more surprised but I am not'
Mobile users click here to see what Greg Lirette said in its entirety.
Greg Lirette, a former DART employee, said he is surprised the shooting happen in Dallas, but not surprised a shooting occurred.
“There is a big hatred for police officers, (and) anybody who is going through any level of training in the military knows how to shoot an M-16,” he said.
He said more needs to be done to prevent similar shootings in the future.
Mobile users, click here to see a slideshow of a vigil held Friday afternoon and click here to see the a slideshow of the growing memorial outside DPD headquarters.
Over the weekend, a memorial outside the department grew exponentially as people stopped by to mourn and show respect for the officers.
But the outpouring of support quickly ended just after 6 p.m. when police received an anonymous threat and an officer spotted an unidentified man inside a secure parking garage.
Officers drew their guns and worked to secure the area, while SWAT officers converged on the area and searched the garage. No suspect was found and quickly returned to normal.
Mobile users, click here to see the slideshow of Dallas police and SWAT team members responding to Saturday's threat.
We needed to do something
For many the memorial outside DPD headquarters became a place to seek solace from the tragic events.
Two of the visitors, David Flannery and retired Army Sgt. Chandler Davis, said they needed to do something to show officers they have their support.
Both men were in the University of North Texas library when they got word of the shooting.
Davis stood in the sweltering heat on Saturday in full military uniform and in formation.
Flannery stood nearby by offering water to help his friend stand by the memorial for as long as possible.
Flannery said the shooting showed the deep divide between the public and police departments.
Mobile users, click here to see the videos of David Flannery and David Martin speaking.
Nearby, David Martin with Austin police, said he had to support his fellow brothers in blue.
“We are a brotherhood, sisterhood,” Martin said. “We all take the same oath. We all took this job for the same reasons, to serve our communities.”
For Dallas resident Juan Fez, he, like many others in North Texas worried when word of the ambush began to spread.
Fez said he has several friends within the department.
“It was a scary situation,” he said while waiting to hear from a friend who was downtown at during the shooting. “I didn’t get a text from him until two in the morning.”
He also said his friends are not saying much right now as they are trying cope with what happened.
Another sign that the community has rallied around the men and women in blue is with cards they are writing to officers.
“Thank you for all you sacrifice for our families. We appreciate you,” one card reads. Another thanks the officers for their selflessness, “No words can every say what the citizens of our city want to truly say to you. We love and appreciate your bravery. Thank you for protecting our city and doing a job that is so selfless.”
A simple message to those who served and witnessed a generations darkest day.
Mobile users, click here to see the videos of Juan Fez speaking and just some of the letters left for Dallas officers.