2016 shooting of Almaty police officers, Trial and sentencing
The attorneys for the other five defendants tried to argue that their clients had little or no involvement in the attacks, but the argument was rejected and the five defendants were convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 to 10.5 years.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers
On July 17, 2016, Gavin Eugene Long shot six police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in an ambush attack, in the wake of the shooting of Alton Sterling. Three died and three were hospitalized, one critically; of the officers who died, two were members of the Baton Rouge Police Department, while the third worked for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office. Long, who associated himself with organizations linked to black separatism and the sovereign citizen movement, was shot and killed by a SWAT officer during a shootout with police at the scene.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Background
The shooting occurred during a period of unrest in Baton Rouge, though it is unclear if the events are related. Baton Rouge was experiencing ongoing protests following the officer-involved killing of Alton Sterling less than two weeks before on July 5. On July 7, the FBI's New Orleans field office issued a warning about "threats to law enforcement and potential threats to the safety of the general public" stemming from the death of Sterling. Within the previous week, four suspects were arrested in connection with an alleged plot to kill Baton Rouge police officers, which was described as a credible threat by law enforcement officials. Ten days earlier, five police officers were killed in a mass shooting in Dallas.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Shooting
Long arrived at Hammond Aire Plaza, a shopping complex on Airline Highway, sometime before 8:40 a.m. CT and began scouting the area in search of police officers. He first spotted a police patrol vehicle parked at a B-Quik convenience store; it belonged to a sheriff's deputy who was working security in the area. Long parked his vehicle behind an adjacent building, got out, and prepared to shoot, but found that the vehicle was empty. He then drove north and noticed a police officer washing his vehicle a short distance away, but the officer left before Long could get close.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Shooting
By 8:40 a.m., police received a call about a suspicious person carrying a rifle near the plaza. However, due to Louisiana's open carry law at the time, the potential threat of Long was downplayed, with one dispatcher describing him as a "subject walking with a coat and an assault rifle." Authorities were going to question him and had no probable cause to take him into custody.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Shooting
When officers arrived at the scene, they found Long clad in black and wearing a face mask behind the Hair Crown Beauty Supply store on the 9600 block of Airline Highway. Shots were reportedly fired two minutes later. Another two minutes afterwards, there were reports that officers were down.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Shooting
According to investigators, Long fired upon the first responding officers, fatally wounding three. He first shot and killed a police officer, and shot and wounded his partner who fell to the ground. A third officer tried to help the wounded policeman, but Long engaged him in a gunfight as he approached, and killed him with multiple gunshot wounds. Long then shot the first wounded officer twice more, killing him as well.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Shooting
Long then turned around and shot another police officer standing outside a store and then moved to another part of the complex, where he shot and wounded two sheriff's deputies who were investigating his car. At 8:46 a.m., he was reported to be near Benny's Car Wash. Officers fired on Long from behind the cover of patrol cars. Eventually, a SWAT team responded to the scene; one member took aim at Long from about 100 yards (91 m) away and killed him at about 8:48 a.m. Louisiana State Police said Long was the only person involved in the shooting. The entire shooting lasted for less than ten minutes.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Shooting
Officers used a robot to check Long's body for explosives. A preliminary investigation determined that Long was targeting officers and ignoring civilians. A preliminary autopsy indicated that in addition to being shot by the SWAT officer, Long suffered multiple other gunshot wounds.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Shooting
Police recovered from the crime scene an IWI Tavor SAR 5.56x45-caliber semi-automatic rifle and a Springfield Armory XD 9mm pistol. A third weapon—a Stag Arms M4-type 5.56-caliber semi-automatic rifle—was recovered from Long's rental Malibu. Officials believed Long had intentions of attacking the Baton Rouge police headquarters and continuing to kill officers.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Victims
Two Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) officers and one East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's deputy were killed in the shooting, while three others, a police officer and two sheriff's deputies (Police Officer Chad Montgomery was grazed by a single bullet in the head, Sheriff's Deputy Nicholas Tullier was shot and wounded three times in the head, abdomen and upper arm, and Sgt. Bruce Simmons was hit once in the left arm) were injured.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Victims
The injured were transported to Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, which said it received five patients from the shooting, three of whom later died from multiple gunshot wounds. Of the surviving two, one was in critical condition, being on life support as of August 3, and the other in fair condition. The third injured officer was transported to Baton Rouge General Medical Center and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The critically injured officer was moved to TIRR Memorial Hermann, a recovery facility in Houston, Texas, on November 16.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator
Gavin Eugene Long (July 17, 1987 – July 17, 2016) was identified as the shooter. He was a resident of Kansas City, Missouri. In May 2015, Long filed papers in Jackson County, Missouri, to change his legal name to Cosmo Ausar Setepenra, but court officials there said he never completed the process of legally changing his name. Long was believed to have traveled more than 700 miles (1,100 km) from his hometown to Baton Rouge using a  rental car. He was also believed to have been in Baton Rouge for "several days" prior to the shooting. Long committed the shooting on his 29th birthday.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator
Long's body was released to his family on July 26, and a funeral was planned in Arkansas for a later date.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Personal life
Long grew up in Kansas City and graduated from high school in 2005. His parents divorced when he was eleven, and his father was neglectful of Long, according to court records. He failed to appear on scheduled visits with his son while the divorce was pending, and did not deliver birthday or Christmas presents to him. Court records described one instance where Long was picked up by his father, but dropped off at a day care facility at a casino shortly after.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Personal life
Long served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a data network specialist from August 22, 2005, to August 1, 2010. He was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. During his military service, he was deployed to Iraq from June 2008 to January 2009. He was also assigned to units in San Diego, California, and Okinawa, Japan. Long was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, along with an Iraq Campaign Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Navy Unit Commendation, and others.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Personal life
Following his military service, Long told relatives and friends that he suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He reportedly had prescriptions for Ativan and Valium, both anti-anxiety drugs; Lunesta, a sleep aid; and citalopram, an antidepressant. Health records from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reportedly indicated contacts with Long from 2008 to August 2013. The VA records said that Long told doctors that he contracted PTSD after a friend showed him photos of maimed and decapitated bodies while they were in Iraq.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Personal life
In November 2011, doctors contradicted Long's suspicions of PTSD and instead diagnosed him as having "adjustment disorder with depressed mood." They eventually concluded that he was mentally stable, with no evidence that he was a threat to himself or others. According to Long's mother, the VA then sent him a letter denying him further treatment on the grounds that his disorder was not related to his military service. Long's mental health and related combat experience may have been a factor leading to the shooting.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Personal life
Long graduated from Central Texas College, attending the college's San Diego site at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and via an online education program from fall 2007 to summer 2011; he received an associate of arts degree in general studies. Long studied at Clark Atlanta University during the 2012–13 academic year. Long also spent one semester at the University of Alabama, in spring 2012, with his name making it to the Dean's List as a general business major. According to local court records, Long had no criminal record and was married for two years before the couple divorced.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Views and statements
Long was identified as a "black separatist" by a law enforcement official. Mass shooting scholars said that Long displayed hallmarks of a "disgruntled, paranoid loner" (a common type of mass killer), with a narcissistic and grandiose personality.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Views and statements
Social media posts indicated that he was an active member of the anti-government New Freedom Group. According to CNN, a card was found on Long's body, suggesting that he was a member of the Washitaw Nation, a group of African Americans associated with the sovereign citizen movement that originated in Richwood. In addition to changing his legal name, he claimed his nationality was "United Washitaw de Dugdahmoundyah Mu'ur", and expressed his support for the Moorish Science Temple of America, another African American organization associated with the sovereign citizen movement. However, Long disavowed all prior associations in a recent video, saying, "Don't affiliate me with nothing. ... I'm affiliated with the spirit of justice."


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Views and statements
In April 2015, while in West Africa, Long also became a member of a group dedicated to helping "Targeted Individuals" suffering from "remote brain experimentation, remote neural monitoring of an entire humans body." He asked to be put on the group's "buddy list", but he unexpectedly deactivated his account a month later. His mother said he once believed the Central Intelligence Agency was following him. He appeared as a guest on an online show discussing "Targeted Individuals", but downplayed his belief that he was being tracked, saying, "That's just a small aspect of me. It's not a complete picture of who I am." However, the show's host, who had frequent phone and email correspondence with Long, claimed that Long was adamant about being tracked during their communications.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Views and statements
In a "rambling" series of YouTube clips, Long claimed to be a former Nation of Islam member and referred to Alton Sterling, a black man killed by Baton Rouge police officers on July 5, in online videos. Long operated his YouTube channel under his new legal name, Cosmo Setepenra, making references to oppression against blacks and police protests. At one point less than two weeks before committing the shooting, Long called the shootings of five Dallas police officers an act of "justice". In one video, he said, "One hundred percent of revolutions... have been successful through fighting back through bloodshed."


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Views and statements
In another, he said the act of peaceful protesting was a futile method based on emotion and was easily forgettable. Long also maintained a personal website in which he described himself as a "freedom strategist, mental game coach, nutritionist, author and spiritual advisor." The website contained dozens of additional videos and podcasts.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Views and statements
Long wrote and self-published (also under the name "Cosmo Setepenra") three books about "how to be a strong man" and self-empowerment for black males, which all appeared on Amazon.com in October and November 2015. The books were described by the Los Angeles Times as "bizarre" works featuring a "combination of New Age-style jargon, pseudoscience, motivational bromides, health tips and racial theory." In the books, Long harshly criticized Western medicine, denied the germ theory of disease, and asserted that "[t]he abundance of Melanin in Black humans produces a superior organism both mentally and physically."


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Views and statements
The books were pulled from Amazon.com after the shooting. According to one of his books, he spent two years in several African countries studying their histories and cultures. In addition to the books, Long wrote two diaries—one in 2014 and the other in 2015—where he shared "rambling thoughts" about philosophy, religion, and politics.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Views and statements
Sahib Taylor, a nephew of Long, told The Los Angeles Times that his uncle would teach him about the importance of self-reliance, share his views on racism, and assert that "only advanced survival skills and decisive action" could overthrow the U.S. government. Taylor said that Long recently began sharing his beliefs that international corporations, federal banks, and political organizations were influencing ethnic groups for their own gain; and that the government was using police to control and kill people.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Before the shooting
Within the preceding six months, Long visited the shooting range of a gun shop in Olathe, Kansas, and purchased a target that he used in shooting practice, according to an employee. The same employee also said Long did not purchase any firearms or exhibit any strange behavior at the store.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Before the shooting
In a ten-minute video, Long claimed that he arrived at Baton Rouge not to protest Sterling's death, but to educate local blacks. He also expressed his distaste for white people and mentioned Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, in a rambling, one-sided conversation. He had previously made a similar recording using a body camera while visiting barbershops in Dallas sometime after the shooting there, to promote one of his books.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Before the shooting
A friend said that Long visited him in DeSoto, Texas, two days after the Dallas shooting; during the visit, Long obsessively watched video footage of Sterling's death and praised the Dallas shooter Micah Xavier Johnson, saying "at least he did something". The same friend said that Long also showed him a Washitaw Nation card and unsuccessfully urged him to join. Long's mother said that he would get upset at news stories of black men being shot by police, often renting cars and using them to drive to locations where such shootings occurred to pass out his books.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Perpetrator, Before the shooting
Less than an hour before the shooting, Long purportedly emailed a three-page, handwritten letter, self-described as a "manifesto", to a Columbus, Ohio, musician whose YouTube videos he commented on. In the letter, Long described his belief that the shooting was necessary to "create substantial change within America's police force." He also wrote his belief that there was a "concealed war" between "good cops" and "bad cops", and that he had to attack "bad cops" as vengeance for perceived destruction that they continued to inflict on blacks.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Aftermath
Although Long was said to have acted alone in the shooting, police arrested and questioned two other people in Addis as part of the investigation. They were later identified as Damarcus Alexander, a cousin of slain victim Corporal Montrell Jackson, and Alexander's friend Den'Trell White. According to them, police held them for seven hours, barring them from making any phone calls and refusing to give Alexander diabetic medication even after they were made aware of his condition. Both were eventually released without any charges being filed. At the time, Alexander was unaware of Jackson's death during the shooting. A spokesman for the Louisiana State Police responded to Alexander's claim of police mistreatment, saying, "No complaints or concerns have been brought to our attention."


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Aftermath
Following this shooting and a previous one in Dallas, Texas, that killed five police officers and wounded nine others, local law enforcement agencies across the U.S. began readjusting response strategies, with more officers being paired up in patrol vehicles.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Aftermath
On July 28, the victims of the shooting were honored at a memorial service in Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge. Hundreds of people were in attendance. Governor Edwards, Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and the wives of the victims made speeches during the service.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Aftermath, Louisiana's open carry law
The shooting renewed attention on Louisiana's open carry law, which some law enforcement officials have expressed discomfort towards, believing openly carrying citizens could complicate police matters. Some elected officials have made calls for a reevaluation of the state's open carry law. However, previous attempts at altering state gun laws have resulted in failure due to an amendment to the Louisiana State Constitution in 2012, which gave strong gun ownership protection laws and required limitations of any kind to be faced with strict scrutiny. State Senator Jean-Paul Morrell remarked that gun control bills filed every year in the state are "almost universally unsuccessful." James Gill, a columnist with The Advocate wrote an op-ed addressing the state gun laws and their legal complications on August 11.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Aftermath, Reactions
President Barack Obama condemned the shooting in a statement and added, "These are attacks on public servants, on the rule of law, and on civilized society, and they have to stop." Later that day, he ordered for all flags in the U.S. to be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims. On July 22, Obama met with law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C., and pledged solidarity in the wake of this shooting and the one in Dallas.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Aftermath, Reactions
Governor John Bel Edwards released a statement immediately after the shooting, saying, "This is an unspeakable and unjustified attack on all of us at a time when we need unity and healing." On the day after, he called the shooting "pure evil" and "a diabolical attack on the very fabric of society."


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Aftermath, Reactions
In an interview, Mayor Kip Holden recommended police agencies across the U.S. to put their officers on high alert and urged Americans to be "vocal about their support for law enforcement".


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Aftermath, Legal
On June 30, 2017, district attorney Hillar C. Moore, III released a report, clearing the officers who killed Long of wrongdoing.


2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers, Aftermath, Legal
In July 2017, injured deputy Tullier filed a federal lawsuit against several leaders of Black Lives Matter for inciting violence. The lawsuit was later dismissed.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers
On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, shooting and killing five officers and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded. Johnson was an Army Reserve Afghan War veteran and was angry over police shootings of Black men. The shooting happened at the end of a protest against the police killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, which had occurred in the preceding days.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers
Following the shooting, Johnson fled inside a building on the campus of El Centro College. Police followed him there, and a standoff ensued. In the early hours of July 8, police killed Johnson with a bomb attached to a remote control bomb disposal robot. It was the first time U.S. law enforcement had used a robot to kill a suspect.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers
The shooting was the deadliest incident for U.S. law enforcement since the September 11, 2001 attacks, surpassing two related March 2009 shootings in Oakland, California, and a November 2009 ambush shooting in Lakewood, Washington, which had each resulted in the death of four police officers and the shooting deaths of both suspects.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Background
A protest was organized in Dallas by the Next Generation Action Network in response to the killings of two men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota, respectively, days before. The Dallas protest was one of several held across the United States on the night of July 7. Around 800 protesters were involved, and around 100 police officers were assigned to monitor the event. About 20 to 30 open-carry gun rights activists joined the protest march, some wearing gas masks, bulletproof vests, and fatigues, according to Dallas Police Chief David Brown.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings
Most of the events happened in the streets and buildings around El Centro College, which forms a city block composed of multiple buildings. The block is bordered by Main Street on the south where the protest march was taking place; Lamar Street to the east from where Johnson initiated the shooting spree; and Elm Street to the north where Johnson eventually entered the college.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings, Main Street shootings
Around 8:58 p.m. Johnson parked his SUV sideways on Lamar Street, in front of the east entrance to the college, at Building A, and left the vehicle hazard lights blinking. At the time, the street had been cleared out in anticipation of the protest. Taking cover at street level, he began shooting at groups of police and protesters who were gathered on Main Street. Johnson was believed to have talked to three of the officers he shot before he first opened fire.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings, Main Street shootings
Three officers were killed in the initial gunfire, while at least three others and a civilian were injured. Eleven officers fired back. During the shooting, officers, unaware where the shots were coming from, scrambled to block intersections and were exposed to gunfire as a result.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings, Main Street shootings
Immediately afterwards, Johnson made his way north on Lamar Street, encountering Officer Brent Thompson along the way. A civilian recorded video of the encounter from his hotel balcony on Lamar Street. The video showed Johnson, clad in tactical clothing and armed with a rifle, loading his rifle and firing indiscriminately to draw officers near his position. When Thompson approached a corner, Johnson engaged him in a gunfight, forcing Thompson to take cover behind a concrete pillar. Johnson fired towards one side of the pillar, then ran over to the other side of the pillar to flank Thompson and shot him multiple times from behind, killing him.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings, El Centro College shootout
Johnson, now injured during the firefight, attempted to enter the Lamar Street entrance of the college by shooting out the glass door but was unable to make his way in. He wounded two campus police officers who were near the doorway inside the building. Corporal Bryan Shaw was shot in the stomach underneath his bulletproof vest, while Officer John Abbott was hit by flying glass in the legs.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings, El Centro College shootout
Johnson then made his way to Elm Street where he shot out another glass door and entered the college unseen; he then made his way to Building B. Hearing the shattering glass, one of the injured campus officers, Corporal Shaw, made his way through the building and discovered a trail of blood leading to a stairwell. Accompanied by another police officer, Shaw entered the stairwell and was met with a hail of gunfire coming from above. Unable to see Johnson, he held his fire and retreated with the other officer.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings, El Centro College shootout
Afterwards, Johnson made his way along a mezzanine between the school's second-floor dining area and third-floor library, but came onto a dead end of windows facing down onto Elm Street. He shot out multiple windows and fired repeatedly at officers on Elm Street. He hit Michael Smith, a police officer standing in front of a 7-Eleven, killing him and shattering the store-front glass. Officers began entering the college, sealing escape routes from the building, and evacuating students and teachers in the building, including those on a floor above Johnson, through a different stairwell.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings, El Centro College shootout
Approaching Johnson on the second floor near the library, officers found him secured behind a corner firing intermittently. He was in an area filled with offices and the school's computer servers, with only two doors leading to where he was positioned, and a hallway about 30 feet (9.1 m) long separating him from SWAT members. At least 200 gunshots were believed to have been fired by Johnson and SWAT officers in that area during the standoff.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings, Standoff and shooter's death
The police claim that officers opened negotiations for surrender but  Johnson said he would speak to Black police officers only. Johnson stated that he had acted alone and was not part of any group. According to Chief Brown, Johnson appeared delusional during his standoff; "We had negotiated with him for about two hours, and he just basically lied to us, playing games, laughing at us, singing, asking how many did he get and that he wanted to kill some more."


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings, Standoff and shooter's death
Sgt. Larry Gordon indicated in an interview that the shooter "wasn't delusional", "he was very lucid, seemed to be very sane and very in control". By about 2:30 a.m., Chief Brown saw no possibility of negotiating further and made the decision to use a bomb disposal remote control vehicle armed with about 1 pound (0.45 kilograms) of C-4 explosive. The plan was to move the robot to a point against a wall facing Johnson and then detonate the explosives. The device exploded as intended, killing Johnson immediately. The robot, while sustaining damage to its extended arm, was still functional.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings, Standoff and shooter's death
It was later discovered that Johnson had scrawled the letters "RB" in his own blood while in the college, apparently after being wounded while making his way up a stairwell. The meanings of "RB" and other markings made by Johnson remain unclear, though investigators did attempt to discover the meanings.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Shootings, Standoff and shooter's death
Chief Brown said that, during negotiations, Johnson declared he had placed explosives in downtown Dallas. However, a subsequent sweep of downtown Dallas had found no explosives.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Victims
Five officers were killed; nine other officers and two civilians were injured.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Victims
Most of the victims were shot during the protests, and at least one other during a shootout. The dead comprised four Dallas Police Department (DPD) officers and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) officer. Four of the injured officers were from DPD, three were from DART, and two were from El Centro College. Seven of the injured officers were treated at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Two officers underwent surgery. One civilian was shot in the back of the leg, breaking her tibia.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Victims
This was the deadliest single incident for law enforcement officers in the United States since the September 11 attacks, surpassing two 2009 shootings in Lakewood, Washington, and Oakland, California, where four officers each were killed.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Early life and education
Micah Xavier Johnson was born in Magee, Mississippi and raised in Mesquite, Texas. He once described his childhood as "stressful" during a VA visit on August 15, 2014, but further details were redacted on the visit report. When he was four, his parents divorced.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Early life and education
Johnson transferred into John Horn High School when he was 17 and participated in its Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, according to the Mesquite Independent School District. He struggled academically, graduating in 2009 with a 1.98 grade-point average and a ranking of 430 out of 453 students in his class.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Early life and education
In the spring of 2011, he enrolled in four classes at Richland College, but never completed any of them. Investigators believed that Johnson had access to El Centro College through his enrollment at Richland, citing his pre-planned and coordinated movements throughout Building B.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service
Immediately after high school, Johnson enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve and served from March 2009 to April 2015 as a 12W carpentry and masonry specialist. He completed basic training, which required qualification on handling of an M16 rifle or M4 carbine, basic rifles for U.S. military personnel. According to Justin Garner, a high-school friend and classmate who later served alongside Johnson in the same unit, Johnson lacked proficiency in certain required technical skills, such as marksmanship.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service
Johnson was activated at the rank of private first class in September 2013 in support of the War in Afghanistan, where he was deployed from November 2013 to July 2014 with the 420th Engineer Brigade.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service
People who knew Johnson during his time in the Army described him as openly religious and often socializing with white soldiers. A squad leader, who trained Johnson in tactical maneuvers and protection in 2009 and 2010, described him as "klutzy", "goofy sometimes", and "a nice guy", but also quiet and unmotivated.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service
Documents released by the Army on July 29 detailed early signs of disturbing behavior being exhibited by him, but specific details were redacted. They also said that while Johnson was sociable, he was generally described by soldiers as a loner who sometimes ate his lunch in a vehicle alone while the rest of his unit ate outside together.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service, Discharge
On May 1, 2014, during his deployment, he was accused of sexual harassment by a female soldier, who sought a protective order against him and said that he needed mental health counseling. The accusation was made after the soldier reported four pairs of women's underwear missing from her laundry bag. A "health and welfare inspection" of soldiers' rooms found one pair in Johnson's quarters, while a soldier discovered the remaining three in Johnson's pocket. Upon being confronted about it, Johnson fled with the undergarments and attempted to dispose of them in a nearby dumpster. He then lied that a female civilian acquaintance gave the underwear to him, but the female soldier confirmed that they were in fact hers.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service, Discharge
The female soldier told investigators that she and Johnson had been platonic friends for five years, but had stopped talking to each other. She described their relationship as being tumultuous and involving fights and disagreements. She specifically recalled one incident where Johnson punched out a car window over her leaving for college and severed an artery, then forced her to bring him to a hospital for treatment. However, Johnson claimed that he punched out the window when the soldier missed a movie they planned to see together, and added that he had been under stress from his job and turbulent home life at the time.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service, Discharge
According to the soldier, Johnson asked her for a pair of her underwear before the May 1 incident, but she declined. Also, during a Facebook conversation with her, Johnson mentioned "tying her down and having her face down on the bed" but then claimed the statement was a joke. Though she told him that rape was "never a joke" and to stop contacting her, the soldier did not report him for harassment at the time because she was used to that kind of rhetoric, as she was frequently around men at home and work. Though the May 1 incident did not meet the Army's criteria for sexual harassment, investigators found that Johnson's sexually suggestive comments to the female soldier met said criteria.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service, Discharge
Following the inspection, he was disarmed under the recommendation of his platoon sergeant, who felt he posed a potential threat. Another Army official later described the action as unusual, as Johnson did not appear to be visibly agitated or a threat to himself or others at the time. Johnson was then placed under 24-hour escort, which was reportedly a shameful and ostracizing experience, before being temporarily moved to Bagram Airfield on May 3, but he did not have enough time to pack all of his belongings. While soldiers were emptying Johnson's quarters and packing his belongings for him on May 14, they discovered an unauthorized single M430I High Explosive Dual Purpose 40mm grenade, a .50-caliber round, and another soldier's prescription medication in his sleeping bag.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service, Discharge
Later, the Army sent Johnson back to the U.S., and according to the military lawyer who represented Johnson at the time, the Army initiated proceedings to give Johnson an "other than honorable" discharge. The lawyer claimed this was "highly unusual" because written reprimands are usually issued before more drastic steps are taken, and also because the decision was allegedly based on a single sexual harassment allegation.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service, Discharge
The lawyer was evidently unaware of the grenade and other contraband discovered in Johnson's possession shortly before he was repatriated to the United States from Afghanistan as well as other factors in Johnson's possibly redacted record. On the advice of his attorney, Johnson waived his right to a hearing in exchange for a more favorable general discharge under honorable conditions. He was honorably discharged in September 2014, apparently as a result of an Army error. Johnson remained in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), meaning he could be recalled into the Army if needed, and was part of the IRR at the time of his death.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service, Discharge
Johnson received the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star, Army Achievement Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, and NATO Medal for his tour of duty in Afghanistan.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Military service, Discharge
Some of Johnson's fellow soldiers criticized the Army's handling of the case.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Motive
Chief Brown said that Johnson, who was Black, was upset about recent police shootings of Black men and "stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers." A friend and former coworker of Johnson's described him as "always [being] distrustful of the police." Another former coworker said he seemed "very affected" by recent police shootings of Black men. A friend said that Johnson had anger management problems and would repeatedly watch videos of the 1991 beating of Rodney King by police officers. Brown said that Johnson had told police negotiators that he was upset about Black Lives Matter.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Motive
"Two law enforcement officials told NPR's Dina Temple-Raston that they believe the suspect had been planning an attack for some time and acted on his own. They added that they have not identified a connection between the suspect and any international terrorism or domestic extremist groups".


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Motive
An investigation into his online activities uncovered his interest in Black nationalist groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and news outlets reported that Johnson "liked" the Facebook pages of Black nationalist organizations such as the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), Nation of Islam, and Black Riders Liberation Army, three groups which are listed by the SPLC as hate groups. On Facebook, Johnson posted an angry and "disjointed" post against white people on July 2, several days before the attack.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Motive
NBPP head Quanell X said after the shooting that Johnson had been a member of the NBPP's Houston chapter for about six months, several years before. Quanell X added that Johnson had been "asked to leave" the group for violating the organization's "chain of command" and espousing dangerous rhetoric, such as asking the NBPP why they had not purchased more weapons and ammunition, and expressing his desire to harm Black church preachers because he believed they were more interested in money than God. Following the shooting, a national NBPP leader distanced the group from Johnson, saying that he "was not a member of" the party.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Motive
Johnson also "liked" the Facebook page of the African American Defense League, whose leader, Mauricelm-Lei Millere, called for the murders of police officers across the U.S. following the fatal 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald. In response to the police killing of Alton Sterling, the organization had "posted a message earlier in the week encouraging violence against police".


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Motive
Johnson's Facebook profile photo depicted Johnson raising his arm in a Black Power salute, along with images of a Black Power symbol and a flag associated with the Pan-Africanism movement. These symbols have long represented Black empowerment, but have also been co-opted by reactionary groups with bigoted views.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Motive
Conversely, people familiar with Johnson during his military service believed he may have been severely stressed with serving in a combat zone. They also said he had little interest in the topics of racial injustice and the killing of Trayvon Martin that occurred at the time. In an interview, Johnson's parents said that he was once extroverted and patriotic, and wanted to become a police officer. Following his discharge from the Army, they described him as disillusioned, reclusive, and resentful of the U.S. government; and believed he had been disappointed by his experience in the military. According to a soldier, Johnson had a small breakdown after he began losing his friends in the Army after details of the sexual harassment accusation were released.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Before the shooting
According to an employment application made by Johnson seven months before his death, he worked in a Jimmy John's sandwich shop in north Dallas beginning in 2010, and took a position as a quality assurance worker at a Garland, Texas, truck plant in 2012. At the time of his death, Johnson was working as an in-home caregiver for his mentally disabled adult brother. Both men lived with their mother in her home.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Before the shooting
Johnson had no criminal record in Texas. However, the Mesquite Police Department documented an encounter with him in January 2011. According to the report, Johnson walked into their police station "visibly upset and...bouncing from side to side." He told an officer that a female friend had lied to him and that he had nowhere else to go. He also declined mental health treatment and claimed he was not a threat to himself or others. Johnson was eventually picked up from the station by a friend from his Army Reserve unit.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Before the shooting
The Veterans Health Administration released documents in August 2016 showing that Johnson had symptoms for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following his return from Afghanistan. He was not formally diagnosed with the condition, and doctors concluded that he presented no serious risk to himself or others. Johnson had sought treatment for anxiety, depression, and hallucinations, once telling doctors that he had experienced nightmares after witnessing fellow soldiers dying in explosions.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Before the shooting
Johnson also said that he would hear voices and mortars exploding; and that after returning to the U.S., he would be paranoid, suffer from lower back pain, and experience panic attacks a few times per week. For the latter condition, he recalled one incident at a Wal-Mart that required a police response. For his conditions, Johnson was prescribed several medications, including a muscle relaxant, an antidepressant, and anti-anxiety and sleep medication.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Before the shooting
Chief Brown said that while Johnson had been planning the shooting before the deaths of Sterling and Philando Castile, both incidents served as the trigger to commit the shooting and that he saw the Dallas protest as "an opportunity" to attack police officers. Johnson had offered to work security at an anti-Donald Trump rally led by Dallas civil rights activist Reverend Peter Johnson on June 16, but he insisted on bringing a gun, so the reverend declined.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Perpetrator, Before the shooting
According to police and a neighbor, Johnson practiced military exercises in his backyard. In 2014, Johnson received training and instruction at a private self-defense school that teaches tactics such as "shooting on the move" (i.e., quickly firing, then changing position and resuming gunfire). The tactic was designed to keep a gunman's location uncertain and create the impression of multiple shooters. Although the school's website does mention such training as being offered, Justin Everman, the founder of the school, stated that Johnson only took self-defense courses two years ago. Investigators believed that he began amassing his arsenal around the same time, stockpiling guns and gathering chemicals and electronic devices and PVC piping needed to build explosives.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Weapons
There were conflicting reports on the type of semi-automatic rifle that Johnson used during the shooting. Clay Jenkins, the Dallas County chief executive and the director of homeland security and emergency management, said Johnson used an SKS. News reports, all citing unnamed officials familiar with the investigation, said Johnson used an Izhmash-Saiga 5.45mm rifle, which is a variation on the AK-47.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Weapons
The New York Daily News did an interview with a man who sold Johnson a semiautomatic AK-47 pattern rifle in November 2014. The man said he sold Johnson the rifle and made the deal in a Target parking lot. When the man asked the ATF if his weapon played a part in the shooting, the ATF agent who responded said, "All we can say is it was recovered. We're just finding out everything we can."


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Weapons
In addition to the rifle, Johnson carried at least one handgun with a high-capacity magazine during the attack. CNN, citing an unnamed official, reported that two handguns were recovered, one a Glock 19 Gen4 pistol and the other a Fraser .25-caliber.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Weapons
The FBI reported that Johnson wore ballistic body armor with plates during the shooting.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Searches
Johnson's family home was searched by authorities the day after the shooting. Bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, two rifles, ammunition, and a "personal journal of combat tactics" containing "instruction on shooting techniques and tactical movements" were recovered from the home by detectives. Amateur civilian footage of the shooting captured from a rooftop showed Johnson shooting while advancing at Officer Thompson, who was positioned defensively behind a pillar, before pivoting and immediately flanking the officer on the other side of the pillar and unleashing another barrage of point-blank gunfire. Chief Brown reported that the journal included "quite a bit of rambling ... that's hard to decipher."


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Searches
Chief Brown said that recovered evidence pointed to Johnson practicing detonations and having enough explosive material to cause "devastating effects" throughout Dallas and the North Texas area. However, the latter claim was contradicted on July 18 by two officials familiar with the investigation, who both said small amounts of Tannerite, a binary explosive used to make explosive targets for gun ranges, and acetone, an accelerant in explosives, were recovered from the home.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Searches
Statements were taken from three hundred witnesses and officers during the course of the investigation. Investigators are examining Johnson's laptop, journal, and cell phone, along with 170 hours of body camera footage. However, there were concerns about the resolution quality of some of the 90 cameras installed in downtown Dallas, which could have recorded parts of the shooting essential to the investigation. The cameras were part of a multimillion-dollar downtown surveillance system implemented to reduce crime in the area. The Dallas Police Department planned to release surveillance footage of the shooting on August 29, but held it off, saying the release would interfere with its investigation.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Related arrests
Officials initially said two or more snipers carried out the shooting, with the confusion later attributed to ricocheting bullets and the echoes of gunshots. They later said that Johnson appears to have been the lone gunman, with all of the gunshots traced back to him. Three other people were taken into custody by police, "but officials have not said what roles they may have played." These three included two people seen carrying camouflage bags and leaving the shooting scene on Lamar Street. They were both stopped and detained after a six-mile chase.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Related arrests
The detained persons were all later determined to be fleeing protesters who were either armed or carrying ammunition gear. However, police announced on July 9 that they were continuing to investigate whether Johnson acted alone or conspired with others in planning the shooting. Investigators obtained a search warrant to look for phone numbers connected to Johnson.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Related arrests
One of the people taken into custody by police had attended the protest wearing a camouflage T-shirt and openly carrying an unloaded AR-15 rifle. Shortly after the shooting, the Dallas Police Department (DPD) tweeted a photo of the man describing him as one of their suspects and asked the public's help in finding him. The police-released image of the suspect was widely shared on social media and broadcast on national television. The suspect turned himself in and was subsequently released after questioning without charge.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Police High commands
Due to the criticism against militarization of police, Dallas Police Department's High Command ordered the officers assigned to the protest to not wear military-style bulletproof vests (such as plate carriers) because they did not want the officers to look too "militaristic, aggressive" and instead to wear standard issue kevlar vests, which were not able to protect against the rifle rounds Johnson had. For the same reasons, officers were not able to arm themselves with long guns, such as AR-15s. The President of the Dallas Police Association, Mike Mata, said: "[ A] lot of those shots, and a lot of those wounds… were chest shots, lower abdomen wound shots, and those heavy vests would have covered them".


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Army internal review
On July 13, Pentagon officials announced that the U.S. Army had launched an internal review into Johnson's military service. The review was initiated after questions were raised about the appropriateness of his honorable discharge despite the sexual harassment allegations made against him, and the fact that the Army had been highly considering an "other than honorable discharge" for Johnson.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Army internal review
During the investigation, the Army uncovered an incomplete amount of information regarding the sexual harassment allegations. The following day, another review was initiated by the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, to determine if a full investigation was made into the allegations. An Army official echoed a statement made by the lawyer who represented Johnson, saying that Johnson's honorable discharge may have been the result of an administrative error. The same official added that nothing had been found in Johnson's record that indicated a willingness to commit murder.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Investigation, Army internal review
On July 29, the Army released a heavily redacted report, which detailed the incident behind Johnson's discharge but did not address why he was discharged honorably. Another investigative report was released on August 17. On September 7, the Army released Johnson's personnel files.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath
DART suspended service in downtown Dallas after the shooting, but resumed the next morning with the exception of West End station. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction of civilian aircraft for the immediate vicinity in which the shooting occurred, allowing only police aircraft in the airspace.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath
El Centro College canceled all classes on July 8. Police barricaded the perimeter and began canvassing the crime scene. The explosion that killed Johnson also destroyed the school's servers, further delaying reopening. The school partially reopened on July 20, with staff returning that day and students on the following day. Buildings A, B, and C remained closed pending the FBI investigation. A "Reflect and Renew" ceremony dedicated to demonstrating citywide efforts to unify Dallas was held at the college on July 27. Students and staff, along with city and community officials, were in attendance.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath
Chief Brown said that police efforts to identify the gunman were made more difficult by the presence of up to thirty civilians openly carrying rifles during the protest, which is legal in Texas. Brown said, "We're trying as best we can as a law enforcement community to make it work so that citizens can express their Second Amendment rights. But it's increasingly challenging when people have AR-15s slung over their shoulder and they're in a crowd. We don't know who the good guy is versus the bad guy when everyone starts shooting." In an interview after the shooting, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said that he supported changing state law to restrict the public carrying of rifles and shotguns so that the police could distinguish between suspects and civilians more easily during crises.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath
Dallas Observer noted several similarities between Johnson and Mark Essex, a discharged U.S. Navy sailor and Black Panther who committed two attacks against white civilians and police officers on December 31, 1972, and January 7, 1973, in New Orleans. The attacks left nine people dead, including five police officers.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath, Lawsuits
In November 2016, Enrique Zamarripa, the father of Officer Patrick Zamarripa, one of the murdered police officers, filed a lawsuit against Black Lives Matter and 13 other defendants, including the Nation of Islam, the New Black Panther Party, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and individual activists. The lawsuit seeks $550 million in damages and claims that Johnson was acting as an agent for the defendants and alleged that the defendants incited violence and caused the Dallas shooting as a "direct result". The mother of the officer, Valerie Zamarripa, distanced herself from her ex-husband's lawsuit, saying that it did not reflect her views, or the views of the foundation set up in her son's name.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath, Lawsuits
Earlier, in September 2016, a Dallas police officer, Sgt. Demetrick Pennie, represented by lawyer Larry Klayman, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas against 17 people—including Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam, Sharpton, the National Action Network, Black Lives Matter, DeRay Mckesson, Malik Zulu Shabazz, the New Black Panther Party, George Soros, President Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton, and Jesse Jackson—blaming them for the attack and seeking damages of over $500 million. Klayman has used his nonprofit group Freedom Watch to pursue lawsuits that "further supposed 'far-right' causes" in the past. The lawsuit was seen as "unlikely to be taken too seriously by a judge" and all of Klayman's claims against Mckesson and Black Lives Matter were dismissed or withdrawn. Attorneys for Mckesson have argued that "Klayman should have known his claims were frivolous."


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath, Lawsuits
In January 2017, Pennie separately sued Twitter, Facebook, and Google in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claiming that the websites "knowingly and recklessly" allowed terrorist propaganda to be spread on their social networks.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath, Effects on policing
As a result of the shooting, local law enforcement officers worked more than $800,000 in overtime to help the Dallas Police Department (DPD). This included $86,000 spent by the Dallas County Sheriff's Office, $88,000 spent by the Arlington Police Department, about $705,250 by DPD, and unknown sums by the Irving Police Department and the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath, Effects on policing
Following this shooting and another in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that killed three police officers and wounded three others, local law enforcement agencies across the U.S. began readjusting response strategies, with more officers being paired up in patrol vehicles. Departments also began to increase security and surveillance at protest events against police.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath, Effects on policing
Within twelve days following the shooting, DPD received 467 job applications, representing a 344% increase from the 136 applications received by the department in June. In the months before the shooting, DPD, along with other police departments across the country, had been struggling to recruit new officers. DPD even had to cancel academy classes because there were not enough applicants, and also struggled in retaining officers due to a low salary. On August 25, DPD announced their goal to hire 549 officers by October 2017, though some police and City Council officials called it an unrealistic goal due to the department's strict hiring requirements.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath, Use of a police robot to kill Johnson
The killing of Johnson was the first time in United States history a robot was used by police to kill a suspect. The Remotec ANDROS Mark V-A1, a bomb disposal remote control vehicle used by police, was rigged with about 1 pound (0.45 kilograms) of C-4 explosive. The decision to attack Johnson with a robot was made after it was concluded that the heavily armed assailant had secured himself behind a corner at the end of a hallway, with no safe way for police to rush him or reach him with a sniper.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath, Use of a police robot to kill Johnson
There were various reactions to the lethal use of a robot by police. P. W. Singer, a robotics expert at the New America Foundation, said it was the first instance of which he was aware of a robot being used lethally by police. Seth Stoughton, an assistant professor of law at the University of South Carolina, said, "This is sort of a new horizon for police technology. Robots have been around for a while, but using them to deliver lethal force raises some new issues."


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Aftermath, Use of a police robot to kill Johnson
To this effect, Stoughton said, "I'm not aware of any police department having on hand something that is intended to be used as a weaponized explosive." He believed that the manner in which the police used the robot was justified due to Johnson being an imminent threat to police personnel and civilians, stating, "The circumstances that justify lethal force justify lethal force in essentially every form."


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Reactions
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety to offer any assistance to Dallas when requested. He also said, "In times like this we must remember—and emphasize—the importance of uniting as Americans." Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick attributed the violence to individuals on social media, "former Black Lives Matter protesters", and others with anti-police views, later expressing regret for his statement.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Reactions
President Barack Obama called the shooting a "vicious, calculated, despicable attack" and a "tremendous tragedy". He also made immediate calls for gun control. The Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police union in the U.S., called for the shooting to be investigated as a hate crime and criticized President Obama's response, saying that he needed to speak for everyone and not give one speech for police officers and another one for African Americans.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Reactions
Leaders associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, including organizers of the protest rally, condemned the shooting.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Reactions
On July 8, the day after the shooting, a special interfaith vigil attracted hundreds of people to Thanks-Giving Square in Downtown Dallas, where Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and regional faith leaders led prayers for the officers involved in the shooting and for everyone affected by it.


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Reactions
An interfaith memorial to the dead officers was held at Dallas's Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center on July 12. Former President George W. Bush, a Texan, and President Obama both spoke. Obama praised the Dallas police as heroes and called the killings "an act not just of demented violence but of racial hatred." In the aftermath, Obama urged Americans not to give in to despair, saying, "[W]e are not so divided as we seem."


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Reactions
Attorney General Loretta Lynch said that agents from the ATF, FBI, Marshals Service, and other U.S. Department of Justice agencies were on the scene working with state and local agencies. Lynch stated that the proper response to uncertainty and fear "is never violence" but rather is "calm, peaceful, collaborative and determined action." Lynch also said, "To all Americans, I ask you, I implore you, do not let this week precipitate a new normal in this country."


2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, Reactions
After the shootings at Dallas, Louisiana, and Minnesota, the Bahamian government issued a travel advisory telling citizens to use caution when traveling to the U.S. due to racial tensions. They specifically advised that young men use "extreme caution" when interacting with police and to be non-confrontational and cooperative.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers
In the early hours of November 2, 2016,  Des Moines Police Department officer Anthony Beminio and Urbandale Police Department officer Justin Martin were killed in separate "ambush-style" shootings in and near Des Moines, Iowa. The perpetrator in both shootings, identified as 46-year-old Scott Michael Greene of Urbandale, Iowa, was apprehended by police hours later. Greene pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life without parole on May 20, 2017.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Background and events
According to a report released in 2016 by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 50 U.S. police officers were killed by homicide as of late July, representing a significant increase from the 33 officers murdered in 2015. The report also noted an increase of "ambush killings" targeting officers, with fourteen incidents recorded. Also in July 2016, there had been two mass shootings targeting police officers in Dallas, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in a ten-day period. Speaking for the Des Moines Police Department after the Des Moines-area shootings, Sergeant Paul Parizek noted, "There is a clear and present danger to police officers right now."


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Background and events
On November 2, 2016, Justin Martin, an Urbandale police officer, was killed shortly after 1:00 a.m. in Urbandale, located about 7.5 miles (12.1 km) northwest of Des Moines. Officers responding to a 1:06 report of shots being fired found him dead in his patrol car. About 20 minutes later, Sergeant Anthony Beminio, a Des Moines police officer, was found shot in his vehicle at a nearby intersection, about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the first scene. Beminio was taken to the Iowa Methodist Medical Center, where he died, according to Sergeant Parizek. Security footage of Beminio's death, time-stamped at about 1:09, depicted him being fired upon by a man who had driven a truck beside Beminio's vehicle.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator
Scott Michael Greene, 46, was identified by police as the sole suspect in both shootings through "a series of leads and investigative tips", including a vehicle description provided by a witness. He was a resident of Urbandale.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator
Less than two hours after his identification, the Dallas County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa State Patrol apprehended Greene at 9:15 a.m. According to police, he was found walking unarmed down G Trail at 320th Way, a gravel road in Wiscotta, located south of Redfield and some 35 miles (56 km) west of the shootings. He had flagged down an Iowa Department of Natural Resources officer and asked him to call 9-1-1. He was transported to a hospital after he complained of a preexisting health problem.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Personal life
Greene had three children from two relationships and was an employee at a furniture store from June 2006 to August 2013. Also, for three separate times in recent years, he had been a part-time worker at two local Ace Hardware stores.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Personal life
In October 2016, he was hired by a small construction business in Ankeny that specialized in fences, even though he had no experience building fences. He had told the company that he "was pretty desperate" for a job and that he needed to support his teenage daughter. The company sent him home after three days "because he was not taking directions and wasn't working", and though it gave him the chance to return to work under a different crew, Greene quit instead. Afterwards, he posted a video on YouTube of a worker driving a truck, and claimed, in a written message below the video, that the company fired him after he reported unsafe driving.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Personal life
Neighbors described Greene as a depressed loner and said that he had been going through several personal hardships, including the death of his father, the departure of his wife, and his separation from his children. At the time of the shootings, he was living with his mother and daughter in the former's house, located near Urbandale High School.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Earlier incidents
Greene reportedly had a history of assault and confrontations with police. In April 2014, he was charged with interference with official acts after becoming aggressive and resisting an Urbandale officer's attempt to pat him down in search of weapons. Two days after this incident, he was charged with harassment after he reportedly threatened to kill a man and used a racial slur against him. Greene pleaded guilty in both cases, and was subsequently fined, given a year of probation and a restraining order against the man he threatened, and forced to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Greene's probation officer wrote that Greene had complied with the terms of his probation, as well as medication recommendations.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Earlier incidents
Two weeks prior to the shootings, he had to be physically escorted by police out of Urbandale High School, where his daughter was a student. The incident occurred during a football game, when he waved a Confederate flag in front of black students during the national anthem, with the apparent intent to incite them into a physical confrontation with him. Some of the fans in the stands were participating in a non violent protest by sitting during the National Anthem.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Earlier incidents
Nearby parents tried to ask Greene to leave, but he refused and continued waving the flag, prompting one parent to grab the flag and throw it onto the track. Officers intervened and tried to ask Greene to leave, but he again refused, arguing that his constitutional rights were being violated. He also tried to report the theft of the flag, as well as an assault on him during the game, but the reports were disregarded. Afterwards, he was temporarily banned from the school grounds until March 2017.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Earlier incidents
Greene recorded the incident and posted the video on social media. In the video, a person identifying himself as Greene said that he was angry with people, especially blacks, sitting during the national anthem. He also sent an alarming email to school officials, in which he warned that "[they] messed with the wrong guy", that his civil rights were violated, and threatened legal action against the school. In addition, he stalked one of the involved black parents a week later after another game. Greene's behavior prompted school officials to consider increasing security at school events.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Earlier incidents
Despite the aforementioned encounters, Greene's daughters described their father as having no anti-police ideology and expressed their shock at the shootings. In fact, Greene was reportedly disturbed with the anti-police violence that he felt was being shown by the black community. On October 29, four days before the shootings, he sent a note to the Urbandale Police Department in which he praised its officers for keeping the community safe, called them "absolute heroes", and apologized for his previous run-ins with law enforcement. In the same letter, he claimed he was getting treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Earlier incidents
Around the same time as the football game incident, Greene had an argument with his mother, Patricia Greene, over a pit bull that was his daughter's service dog, which he brought home, and attempted to kick her out of the house by filing a restraining order and charging her with domestic assault. Patricia, in turn, filed a restraining order of her own to get him out of the house.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Earlier incidents
On the day before the shootings, Patricia's restraining order, which ordered Greene to move out of the house and stay away from her for a year, was accepted and issued to Greene, who also had to return $10,000 to his mother. The domestic assault charge against Patricia Greene was dropped on November 3 due to insufficient evidence.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Legal proceedings
Following his release from the hospital on November 3, Greene was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He faced a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, the maximum allowed under Iowa law. He was held in the Polk County Jail, initially without bond; he was taken there in handcuffs belonging to the slain officers. Greene made his first court appearance on November 4, where his bond was set at $10 million. His next court appearance was scheduled on November 14, but Greene reportedly waived this hearing on November 9, and it was postponed to November 19.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Perpetrator, Legal proceedings
On May 20, 2017, Greene withdrew his not-guilty plea and pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree murder. That same day, Greene was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Aftermath
The first shooting occurred on an intersection near Urbandale High School, resulting in the Urbandale Community School District canceling all classes and closing its facilities for the day. Classes resumed on the following day. The shootings also prompted the Des Moines Police Department to pair up its patrol officers for their own safety. Makeshift memorials were set up near the crime scenes.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Aftermath
The funeral for Sergeant Anthony Beminio was held on November 7 at West Des Moines. The funeral for Officer Justin Martin was held on November 8 at his hometown of Rockwell City. On November 4, Urbandale hosted a vigil for Martin and Beminio, which was attended by over 2,500 people. This was followed by another vigil at the Des Moines Police Department station the next day, which was attended by more than 500 people.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Aftermath, Investigation
Between fifteen and thirty .223-caliber rounds were believed to have been fired at the Urbandale crime scene, while Beminio was believed to have been killed while responding to Martin's shooting. Investigators believed both officers were caught by surprise and did not interact with the gunman before being shot. The suspect's car and a high-powered rifle were recovered from a highly remote wooded area during a search by the ATF. The rifle was said to have been so well hidden that no human would have discovered the weapon; the weapon was in fact first discovered by a search dog. The suspect was believed to have used the firearm to shoot Martin and Beminio.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Aftermath, Investigation
Officers from the Des Moines, Urbandale, Ames, and Iowa State University Police Departments were involved in the investigation and manhunt.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Aftermath, Reactions
President Barack Obama praised Officer Justin Martin and Sergeant Anthony Beminio, and their dedication to their jobs as police officers. He also condemned the shootings, calling them "shameful acts of violence". Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds released a joint statement in which they condemned the shootings and urged Iowa citizens to support law enforcement and the investigation. Attorney General Loretta Lynch condemned the shootings, saying that "violence has no place in the United States of America", and referenced the distrust between law enforcement and several communities nationwide.


2016 shootings of Des Moines police officers, Aftermath, Reactions
On November 4, two days after the shootings, Governor Branstad ordered U.S. and state flags to be lowered at half-mast in honor of the victims from early November 7 to late November 8.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake
At 03:57 local time on 6 February 2016, an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.4 struck 28 km (17 mi) northeast of Pingtung City in southern Taiwan, in the Meinong District of Kaohsiung. The earthquake struck at a depth of around 23 km (14 mi). Its comparatively shallow depth caused more intense reverberations on the surface. The earthquake had a maximum intensity of VII (Very strong) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing widespread damage and 116 deaths. Almost all of the deaths were caused by a collapsed residential building, named Weiguan Jinlong in Yongkang District, while two other people were killed in Gueiren District. Sixty-eight aftershocks have occurred. The earthquake was the deadliest earthquake in Taiwan since the 1999 Jiji earthquake.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Geology
Taiwan is located on the Ring of Fire, making it prone to intense earthquakes. However, the February 2016 event was particularly destructive and deadly.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Geology
Taiwan lies on the boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate, which are converging at 80 mm per year. The island is the result of uplift caused by the collision between the northern end of the Luzon Arc and the continental margin of China. The earthquake's focal mechanism indicates oblique thrust faulting in the mid to upper crust.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Geology
The earthquake's epicenter was in the Meinong District in Kaohsiung City. The earthquake waves traveled northwest from the epicenter to Tainan City through the soft soil in the Chianan Plain. Due to the soft soil nature of Tainan, surface ground motion due to the traveling wave was strongly amplified, thus creating more devastating effects in Tainan.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Damage
The worst affected city was Tainan, where numerous buildings reportedly collapsed, including at least one 17-story residential building in Yongkang District, with hundreds of people trapped in the collapsed buildings. 115 people died inside the Weiguan Jinlong building (zh) in Tainan City, including a six-month-old infant who died a few hours later in a hospital. Officials reported that 397 people were rescued, with 104 of them taken to a hospital. More than 500 people in total were injured from a disaster that struck during the most important family holiday in the Chinese calendar — the Lunar New Year holiday.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Damage
A total of 34 historical buildings around Taiwan were damaged, in which 23 of them are located in Tainan. Public Work Bureau of Kaohsiung City Government discovered 314 broken bridges in the city and 5 of them deemed unusable anymore.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Damage
Taiwan Power Company initially reported that 168,000 households experienced power outage after the quake, but since then has restored the electricity to most of the houses. National Fire Agency reported that about 400,000 households were left without water supply.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Damage
Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) cancelled all train services between Taichung Station and Zuoying Station starting Saturday due to damage to the train power systems and extensive damage to its tracks north of Tainan. Later in the day, THSR made an announcement that the service between Taichung and Chiayi Station resumed after successful repair works.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Damage
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company reported that the silicon wafers at its Tainan factory were damaged, although it did not affect much of its shipment. United Microelectronics Corporation said that the earthquake triggered its plant safety measures to shut down the machines and that they would need recalibrating afterwards.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Disaster response, Rescue efforts
The Ministry of the Interior immediately set up the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) shortly after 4 a.m. once the earthquake had occurred. From the CEOC, President Ma Ying-jeou coordinated the rescue efforts and is expected to head to Tainan. Tainan Mayor William Lai also set up emergency response minutes after the quake. Premier Chang San-cheng has cancelled his original itinerary and is expected to head to Tainan as well. The Ministry of Health and Welfare had launched six regional emergency operation centers. The last survivors, a woman and her niece, were found 60 hours after the earthquake.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Disaster response, Rescue efforts
Ministry of National Defense confirmed that army units were dispatched for the rescue efforts consisting of 810 personnel, 11 medical teams, 24 search and rescue teams and 38 vehicles. The Army Command Headquarters in Gueiren District sent two helicopters to survey the damaged areas. Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital dispatched 30 medical personnel to Tainan. Gen. Yen Teh-fa, Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff, was planned to be stationed at the joint military operations command center to oversee the rescue efforts. A total of 1,200 beds in four locations were prepared by the military for people who lost their homes due to the earthquake. Tainan Air Force Base had been turned into a temporary shelter that could accommodate up to 1,400 people left homeless by the quake.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Disaster response, Rescue efforts
Rescue teams from Japan and People's Republic of China provided advice on the search and rescue efforts. Rescuers used sensors to detect signs of life and avoided using heavy machinery for fear of further collapsing the rubble and potentially trapping any survivors. On 13 February 2016, Tainan Mayor William Lai declared the search and rescue mission for the earthquake victims was over.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Disaster response, Reactions
Taipei 101 put on a lighting display on Saturday night to pay tribute to the earthquake victims. Tennis athletes Chan Yung-jan and Chan Hao-ching dedicated their Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Group I victory to the earthquake victims.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Disaster response, Reactions
During her visit to Tainan, President-elect Tsai Ing-wen said that safety checks of old buildings and urban renewal will be the top priority of her administration, later stating that Taiwan has become a developed society that demands improved public infrastructure and better quality of life. When meeting with the quake victims treated at hospital, Tsai promised that rescue efforts will continue and that rescue teams will not give up hope.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Disaster response, Reactions, Donations
To assist with post-earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts, Japan donated US$1 million, United States pledged US$500,000, and China donated 2 million yuan (approx. 289502.63 USD).


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Disaster response, Reactions, Donations
Tsai Ing-wen donated NT$1 million to the earthquake relief efforts. New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu also donated NT$1 million to earthquake victims. Changhua County Magistrate Wei Ming-ku donated one month of his salary to the earthquake victims.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Disaster response, Reactions, Donations
Yulon Group pledged NT$10 million while Acer donated NT$1 million. Foxconn and Yunglin Healthcare Foundation donated NT$100 million each. Lin Rung San Foundation of Culture and Social Welfare pledged NT$100 million for the victims. Formosa Plastics Corp pledged NT$50 million to help the rescue efforts. Taishin Financial Holdings and Himax each pledged NT$10 million to the Tainan City Government.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Disaster response, Reactions, Donations
Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation sent more than 1,000 volunteers to 15 locations in Tainan with blankets, winter bedding, clothes and food for the earthquake survivors. Taiwan's Red Cross Society mobilized more than 100 employees and volunteers to help with the relief efforts, while the Red Cross Society of China and Macau Red Cross have pledged US$303,030 and US$50,000 respectively. In addition, some Taiwanese and foreign celebrities, like Jay Chou or Huang Xiaoming, donated to the relief efforts.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Disaster response, Reactions, Donations
Hotels around Tainan provided temporary free rooms for earthquake survivors to stay in. Restaurant owners setup temporary kitchens to provide hot foods for rescue workers and relatives of the people who are still trapped under the building rubble. Heating pads and hand warmers were also distributed to the traffic police around the collapsed building.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Aftermath, Reconstruction
The government allocated NT$25 billion for the reconstruction after the damaged caused by the earthquake. The government will also provide rent assistance and banks will provide interest-free long-term loans. The government will also release report on land around Taiwan affected by soil liquefaction and submersion.


2016 southern Taiwan earthquake, Aftermath, Criminal investigation
On 9 February 2016, Tainan District Court approved prosecutors' request to detain three executives of a now-defunct Weiguan developer company that built the collapsed Weiguan Jinlong apartment complex. The prosecutors detained Lin Ming-hui (林明輝), former chairman of the Weiguan company, as well as two other former executives Chang Kui-an (張奎安) and Cheng Chin-kui (鄭進貴), on charges of professional negligence resulting in death. Reuters reported that witnesses saw large rectangular cooking-oil cans packed inside wall cavities of the collapsed apartment building, apparently having been used as building material, while Taiwan media reported the presence of polystyrene in supporting beams, mixed in with concrete.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers
On 5 October 2016, three police officers were attacked by a man wielding a machete in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of Brussels, Belgium. Two of them suffered stab wounds, while the third was physically assaulted but otherwise uninjured. The suspected assailant, a Belgian citizen named Hicham Diop, was apprehended and charged with attempted terrorism-related murder and participating in a terrorist group.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers
He soon told police that his brother had also been involved, and the brother, Aboubaker Diop, was also arrested.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Background
Prior to the stabbing, Schaerbeek and the nearby neighborhood of Molenbeek had already become known as "a hotbed of jihadism" in Brussels. It was the neighborhood where the perpetrators of the March 2016 Brussels bombings and some of the perpetrators of the November 2015 Paris attacks were based. Schaerbeek was the  home of the taxi driver who drove the suspects to Brussels Airport. They raided the home and found a nail bomb, 15 kilograms (33 lb) of acetone peroxide, hydrogen peroxide, and an ISIL flag. Inside a waste container near the house they also found a computer belonging to Ibrahim El Bakraoui who is believed to have carried out suicide bombings during the attacks along with his brother.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Background
The stabbing came nearly two months after a similar stabbing attack in Charleroi, in which an Algerian citizen stabbed two police officers; and nearly one month after another similar attack in nearby Molenbeek, in which a man of North African origin slightly injured two police officers. At the time of the stabbing, Brussels was on a high terror alert.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Background
ISIS has used social media to inspire sympathizers in Western countries to target police and soldiers for attack on the grounds that they represent the state.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Background
The attack was one of a series of attacks on Belgian police officers in 2016, including the stabbing of two officers on 7 September in Molenbeek and the 6 August 2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers. Christopher Dickey describes this attack as part of a pattern of jihadist attacks in which there have been, "many small incidents and thwarted ones, then suddenly one or two high-casualty attacks" in Europe since 2014.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Background
The attack occurred as a summit of world leaders, including American Secretary of State John Kerry, met in Brussels to discuss Afghanistan.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Attack
The attack reportedly occurred during an identity check on Boulevard Lambermont, a busy main road in Schaerbeek. A man, armed with a machete, lunged for two police officers; one was stabbed in the stomach and the other in the neck, but neither was seriously injured. Afterwards, the attacker fled the scene, but encountered a third officer nearby and got into a violent struggle, which resulted in Diop, a former professional boxer, slugging the officer and giving him a broken nose. The officer then shot and wounded the attacker with a single shot to the leg. According to an eyewitness, the attacker shouted something in Arabic after being shot.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Suspect
The suspect, Hicham Diop (43), was at first identified only as Hicham D. by police and media. According to Belgian media, he was a 43-year-old Belgium Army veteran and former boxer who was discharged in 2009 and was previously known to police and to security services for his contacts with extremist Islamists. He was also believed to have links to jihadists who traveled to Syria. A married man with young children, Diop once stood for a seat in a regional parliament, but lost the election. His home was searched by Belgian police, which recovered no weapons.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Suspect
A spokesman for the federal prosecutor said there was "reason to believe that [the stabbing] is terror-related", but did not initially elaborate. Hicham D. was charged with attempted terrorism-related attempted murder and participating in a terrorist group. His 46-year-old brother, Aboubaker Diop, was also arrested and charged with participating in a terrorist group.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Suspect
In 2011, Aboubaker and Hicham were involved in an incident involving the official police vehicle of a security officer.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Suspect
Also in 2015, the brothers were arrested for fighting in an incident involving shots fires at a Kinepolis security guard. The defense asserted that the incident was a family quarrel relating to events that occurred years ago in Senegal.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Suspect
Hicham Diop stood for election on the list of an Islamist party.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Suspect
The brothers are part of a family that migrated to Belgium from Senegal. Hicham was a kickboxer.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Legal proceedings, Hicham Diop
Hicham Diop has been charged with attempted murder in a terrorist context, deliberate intentional assault,  violations of arms legislation and armed rebellion. According to Belgian police, Hicham made terrorism related statements as he was being interrogated. He was known to police for having been in contact with Islamic extremists.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Legal proceedings, Hicham Diop
An additional set of charges was filed in June 2017 for threatening two officers with death as they transported him to the police station following his arrest for assault in October 2016.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Legal proceedings, Hicham Diop
In September 2017, a federal prosecutor asked that Diop be sentenced to 15 years' prison.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Legal proceedings, Aboubaker Diop
Aboubaker Diop, born in 1970, a Belgian national has been charged with "participation in the activities of a terrorist group."


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Reactions
Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon tweeted a statement after the attack, expressing his support for police officers in Schaerbeek.


2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers, Reactions
In a speech in February 2017, Donald Trump stated that the media was not reporting on terrorist attacks. Later that day, the administration included this stabbing attack in a list of 78 attacks which the admin said were "under-reported". It was not clear what "under-reported" meant, or what criteria were used to compile the list. News organizations stated that they had indeed covered most of the incidents in the list, some of them extensively. Politifact rated Donald Trump's claim as false.


2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers
On 6 August 2016, a man attacked two policewomen with a machete in Charleroi, Belgium, before being shot dead by another police officer.


2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers, Background
The attack was one of a series of attacks on Belgian police officers in 2016, including the stabbing of two officers on 7 September 2016 in Molenbeek and the 5 October 2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers.


2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers, Stabbing
According to the accounts of Belgian police and prosecutors, the attack began just before 4:00 p.m., when the perpetrator approached two officers stationed at the checkpoint at the front of the police headquarters, immediately pulled a machete from the sports bag he carried and swung it violently toward the officer's heads. A third officer posted nearby shot the assailant. The attacker is reported to have said "Allahu Akbar" during the attack. Prime Minister Charles Michel said the incident is believed to be a terrorist attack, which would make it the first terrorist attack in Belgium since the Brussels bombings in March. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack.


2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers, Perpetrator
The attacker was a 33-year-old Algerian man who had a criminal record. He had lived in Belgium illegally from 2012 until his death. He attended the mosque at Farciennes. Belgian authorities have released the perpetrator's initials, K.B., but have not released his name. Media outlets released the man's name as Khaled Babbouri.


2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers, Perpetrator
Two deportation orders had been issued for the perpetrator, but not carried out because Algeria and Belgium lack a diplomatic agreement under which Algerian citizens can be involuntarily sent back to Algeria. The perpetrator was not securely detained because Belgium has fewer spaces in secure detention facilities than individuals for whom deportation orders have been issued.


2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers, Victims
Both victims were policewomen (Corinne and Hakima). One suffered an injury to her jaw and had to undergo a second operation to avoid facial paralysis. Another suffered a "large facial scar", and had life-threatening injuries. Both were operated in hospital as emergency cases.


2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers, Investigation
Interior minister Jan Jambon stated that OCAM (Organ for Coordination for Analysis of Threats) is evaluating the attack "to determine if it is terrorism." A "social housing" home was visited by the police the evening of the attack and further investigated by federal police, an evidence unit, and a bomb squad the following day. Le Soir reported that an Algerian family live at the residence.


2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers, Reaction
King Philippe of Belgium visited the victims and the site of the attack.


2016 stabbing of Charleroi police officers, Reaction
The Mouvement Réformateur party presented a law on the Belgian Parliament that Belgian foreign aid be withheld from countries that don't allow the repatriation of their own citizens who are illegal immigrants in Belgium, and the Charleroi attack was cited as an example.


2016 state of emergency in Venezuela
On 13 May 2016 a state of emergency was declared in Venezuela by President Nicolás Maduro. The details of this emergency condition were not explained by Maduro but he mentioned conspiracy within the country and from an OPEC country and the United States to overthrow the Caracas government. The last state of emergency occurred in 2015 due to issues near the Colombian border, resulting in the suspension of constitutional guarantees and the Venezuela–Colombia migrant crisis.


2016 state of emergency in Venezuela, Rationale
Maduro accused the United States of fomenting a hidden coup against his government. On May 13, Friday night, state television broadcast statements by Maduro saying: "Washington is activating measures at the request of Venezuela’s fascist right, who are emboldened by the coup in Brazil." According to Maduro's opinion, the impeachment process against Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff is a sign that shows he is the next one. In a meeting with the Council of Ministers Maduro stated that the state of emergency decree is directed against "oligarchical parasites and speculators".


2016 state of emergency in Venezuela, Responses
The opposition-dominated National Assembly started a process to recall Maduro as president, citing as motives bad conditions such as food and medicine shortages, power cuts, looting and increasing of inflation rate, along with complaints of corruption, drug trafficking and human rights violations. Tomás Guanipa, opposition lawmaker, said: "Today Maduro has again violated the constitution. Why? Because he is scared of being recalled."


2016 state of emergency in Venezuela, Responses
In the lead up to the declaration, United States intelligence officials told reporters that they were worried about an economic and political crisis in Venezuela, predicting that Maduro would not complete his presidency. They added: "You can hear the ice cracking. You know there's a crisis coming."


2016 student protests in Brazil
The Student mobilisation in Brazil in 2016 (Portuguese: Mobilização estudantil no Brasil em 2016) corresponded to a series of demonstrations and occupations in Brazilian secondary schools and universities that intensified during the second half of 2016. The mobilisations were carried out by high school and university students in several states in Brazil.


2016 student protests in Brazil
The demonstrations aimed to stop projects and measures by the state governments of Geraldo Alckmin, Marconi Perillo, José Ivo Sartori, Beto Richa, Luiz Fernando Pezão and the government of then President Michel Temer. The students protested the bills from the "PEC of the spending ceiling" to PEC 241, project "School without a Party", PL 44 and the provisional measure of the New High School.


2016 student protests in Brazil
Possibly inspired by the wave of student mobilisations in São Paulo in 2015, students asked for more investments and better conditions in education for students and teachers as well as the improvement in the quality of school meals and the infrastructure of schools.


2016 supranational electoral calendar
This supranational electoral calendar for the year 2016 lists the supranational elections held in 2016.


2016 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States
The 2016 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began October 3, 2016, and concluded October 1, 2017. The table below illustrates which opinion was filed by each justice in each case and which justices joined each opinion.


2016 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States, 2016 term membership and statistics
This was the twelfth term of Chief Justice Roberts's tenure and the first term for Justice Gorsuch. The Court began its term with a vacant seat because the Senate had not yet confirmed a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia following his death on February 13, 2016. The seat was eventually filled by Neil Gorsuch on April 7, 2017.


2016 term per curiam opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States handed down nine per curiam opinions during its 2016 term, which began October 3, 2016 and concluded October 1, 2017.