Originally appeared at Zerohedge
After a “summer of rage” in the US led to one of the worst, and most deadly, spikes in tension between local police and minority groups, the past several weeks had seen a deescalation between law enforcement, often accused of being racially motivated when shooting at minorities, and trigger happy assailants, mostly African American.
Then overnight, the violence returned when police officers were shot in separate incidents Friday night in Philadelphia and Fort Worth, Texas. According to the Hill, two officers were injured, one critically, and the suspect was killed in Fort Worth, while two officers and four civilians were hit in Philadelphia before the suspect was killed.
According to NBC, the Philadelphia incident began when a man walked up to an officer on the street and opened fire. The suspect then shot four civilian passers-by as he was chased through the streets.
A second officer was then shot when the suspect was chased into an alley, at which point the suspect was shot.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said a letter found at the scene contained an anti-policed message, specifically naming a parole officer as a target. The two officers shot in the incident were up and talking Saturday morning. But two of the civilians shot were still in critical condition, having been shot in the chest.
Elsewhere, in a separate incident in Fort Worth, TX, the two officers were responding to a suicide call at a house, according to NBC Dallas. They arrived to find a person unresponsive with a gunshot wound, and were told that a witness was in a backyard shed, at which point they tried to make contact with that person. A suspect inside the shed began shooting when they arrived. One officer was in critical condition after being shot several times, while the other had only minor injuries.
SWAT officers surrounded the shed, firing tear gas. They eventually confirmed the suspect inside was dead.
As The Hill reported earlier, Donald Trump made mention of both shootings in late-night tweets, offering condolences.
Just arrived in Texas – have been informed two @fortworthpd officers have been shot. My thoughts and prayers are with them.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2016
My thoughts and prayers go out to the @PhillyPolice & @Penn police officers- in Philadelphia. https://t.co/eyC3W1mweY
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2016
This picture says it all. Need I say more?…
It’s a shame – there are still lots of good cops out there. But as long as cops get away with murdering innocent unarmed citizens, they shall be targets for the growing number of Americans who are fed up with police lawlessness.