We Awaken in a Different, Worse Country, One We No Longer Recognize

From the last Morning Jolt of a terrible, unforgettable week:

We Awaken in a Different, Worse Country, One We No Longer Recognize

Turning on the news this morning, it feels like we’ve awoken in some other country, someplace worse. Someplace where no matter how bad a situation is, somebody driven by blinding, self-righteous fury will step in and make it worse.

The summer of 2016, the time America lost its collective mind.

Two snipers shot and killed four Dallas police officers and a DART officer Thursday night during a protest downtown.

Six other officers were wounded in a coordinated attack during the demonstration against recent shootings of black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota.

A man who exchanged gunfire with police in the El Centro College garage was reported dead shortly before 3 a.m.

The shooting was the deadliest day for law officers since Sept. 11, 2001, when 72 officers died, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown said snipers with rifles shot 11 officers and one bystander from elevated positions about 9 p.m..

At 1:42 a.m., the Dallas Police Association tweeted that a fifth officer had died…

At a 12:30 a.m. news conference, Brown said officers had been exchanging gunfire for 45 minutes with a man in the El Centro garage. 

“He has told our negotiators that the end is coming and he’s going to hurt and kill more of us –meaning law enforcement — and that there are bombs all over the place in this garage and in downtown,” Brown said.

Dallas police Maj. Max Geron said officials were conducting “extensive sweeps” of downtown for explosives. About 5 a.m., Geron said primary and secondary sweeps turned up none. 

People were encouraged to stay away from downtown. Downtown workers were asked to check dallascitynews.net to see whether their buildings would be open Friday. 

Dallas Police Chief David Brown said that one of the shooters was killed in a bomb explosion; police had sent in a robot to deal with the device. He added the suspect told hostage negotiators he was upset about Black Lives Matter movement and recent police shootings.