Messages of condolence and outrage have flooded from Capitol Hill the day after a sniper ambushed police officers Thursday night in Dallas, Texas, leaving five dead and another seven wounded.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) made a rare floor address Friday morning to encourage unity among Americans amid heightened political and racial tensions.
"An attack on the people who protect us is an attack on all of us," Ryan said. "There’s no cause or context in which this violence, this kind of terror is justified. None at all."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) took to the podium on the House floor after Ryan to offer her condolences while pleading for people protesting police-involved shootings to do so peacefully.
"The ambush and murder of police officers during a peaceful protest is a tragedy that tears at the heart of every American," she said. "We are horrified by this despicable act of violence, and we share in the shock and grief for the officers killed."
Snipers opened fire during a peaceful demonstration in downtown Dallas, where marchers were protesting the recent killings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota by police officers.
Hundreds of protesters dispersed in panic as a gunman took aim at police. Two civilians were also shot. Army Veteran Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, appears to be the sole sniper in the attack, according to officials. He was killed by police during a standoff Friday morning.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown told reporters that Johnson said he was upset by the recent police shootings and wanted to kill white officers.
Dallas-area Rep. Pete Sessions (R., Texas) said the local police department was working to protect the community when they were ambushed.
"We have a superior law enforcement organization that was there for peace and to help people, and what happened is something that must not ever happen again," Sessions told MSNBC on Friday.
President Obama ordered American flags to be lowered half-staff in the wake of the shooting. He called the attacks "vicious, calculated, and despicable" while advocating for enhanced gun control restrictions.
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton (D.) and Donald Trump (R.) cancelled campaign rallies Friday. The two presumptive nominees posted messages of condolence on Twitter.
I mourn for the officers shot while doing their sacred duty to protect peaceful protesters, for their families & all who serve with them. -H
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 8, 2016
Prayers and condolences to all of the families who are so thoroughly devastated by the horrors we are all watching take place in our country
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 8, 2016
Trump also wrote in a Facebook post that the "execution-style" shootings of the 12 Dallas officers is an attack on the U.S.
"Our nation has become too divided. Too many Americans feel like they’ve lost hope. Crime is harming too many citizens. Racial tensions have gotten worse, not better. This isn’t the American Dream we all want for our children," he wrote.
Brown said his city and department are "hurting."
"We’re hurting. Our profession is hurting. There are no words to describe the atrocity that happened in our city," the police chief said. "All I know is that this must stop—this divisiveness between our police and our citizens."