Snipers opened fire on Dallas law enforcement officers as a protest against police violence came to a close Thursday night. The attack is being called the deadliest on police since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 72 police officers died as a result of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The attacks are the deadliest in U.S. history.
Four Dallas police officers and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit police officer died after gunfire erupted Thursday at an otherwise peaceful protest in downtown Dallas.
Here's a look at some previous attacks on law enforcement officers:
Nov. 29, 2009: Four Lakewood, Washington, police officers killed in ambush
Sgt. Mark Renninger and officers Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens and Greg Richards were ambushed and killed by a lone gunman while sitting in a coffee shop.
The gunman, 37-year-old Maurice Clemmons, was able to elude capture for two days. He was fatally shot by a police officer in Seattle on Dec. 1, 2009.
March 21, 2009: Four Oakland, California, police officers killed in related shootings
Sgt. Mark Dunakin and Officer John Hege were killed after they stopped Lovelle Mixon, 26, for a traffic violation in East Oakland. Authorities later determined through DNA testing that Mixon had held two women at gunpoint and raped them just hours before he fatally shot the motorcycle officers.
A manhunt was launched and authorities were able to corner Mixon at his sister's apartment. Mixon opened fire when a SWAT team went in to clear the building, killing Sgt. Ervin Romans and Sgt. Daniel Sakai. Mixon was killed in the subsequent gun battle.
Sept. 11, 2001: Terrorist attacks leave 72 officers dead
Officers from multiple agencies died while responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks: 37 with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, 23 with the New York City Police Department, five with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, three witth the New York State Office of Court Administration and one each with the New York City Fire Department, FBI and U.S. Secret Service.
One U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office died when United Flight 93 crashed otuside Shanksville, Pennsylvania as a terrorist attempted to take control of the plane, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
April 19, 1995: 8 federal officers killed in Oklahoma City bombing
Eight law enforcement officers were among the 168 people killed when domestic terrorists, led by Timothy McVeigh, detonated a rental truck filled with explosives outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City.
The slain officers were identified as: U.S. Secret Service Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alan Whicher and special agents Cynthia Brown, Donald Leonard and Mickey Maroney; U.S. Customs Office senior special agents Paul Ice and Claude Medearis; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Special Agent Paul Broxterman and DEA Special Agent Kenneth McCullough.
Feb. 28, 1993: 4 ATF agents killed in Texas
Four agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms died when gunfire erupted as federal agents attempted to execute a search warrant at the Waco, Texas compound of the Branch Davidians. Six Branch Davidians died in the gun battle and a 51-day siege of the compound commenced.
The killed ATF agents were identified as Conway LeBleu, Todd McKeehan, Robert J. Williams nad Steven Willis.
About the Author
