10 cops shot, 4 killed by snipers during US racial bias protest in Dallas

Police warned protesters to flee the area, saying the scene remained an active-shooter situation.

Dallas

: Two snipers apparently shot 10 police officers during protests in Dallas on Thursday night and four officers are dead, the city's police chief said in a statement.

A statement from Dallas Police Chief David Brown released by a city spokeswoman said -"it appears that two snipers shot ten police officers from elevated positions during the protest/rally.-"

The gunfire broke out around 8:45 p.m. Thursday while hundreds of people were gathered to protest fatal police shootings this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.

The statement said three officers are deceased, two are in surgery and three are in critical condition.

-"An intensive search-" for suspects is currently underway, it said. No one is in custody.

Live TV video showed protesters marching along a street in downtown, about half a mile from City Hall, when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.

Scores of police and security officers were on hand. Police and others hunched behind cars outside a parking garage. Officers with guns drawn were running near and into the parking garage as police searched for the shooter.

TV cameras showed the search for the gunman stretched throughout downtown, an area of hotels, restaurants, businesses and some residential apartments. The scene was chaotic, with helicopters hovering overhead and officers with automatic rifles on the street corners.