“More Will Be Assassinated In The Coming Days! Do You Like The Work Of Our Assassins? Get Your Own Sniper” read a post on the Black Power Political Organisation Facebook account.
A Facebook page claiming to represent a black power group has posted messages claiming responsibility for the deaths of five police officers in Dallas.
Five officers were gunned down by at least two shooters who picked out officers from an ‘elevated position’ – believed to be a multi-storey car park.
It came in the week of public outrage over the deaths of two black men shot by police.
The so-called Black Power Political Organisation wrote on its Facebook account that it was behind the attack and that ‘more assassinations are coming’.
It’s origins and history is not yet known and authorities have not confirmed any political link to the shootings.
The message – posted in the aftermath of the shootings – said: “#BlackPower! #BlackKnights! Sniper Assassins Take Down Five Police Officers! And More Will Be Assassinated In The Coming Days! Do You Like The Work Of Our Assassins? Get Your Own Sniper Rifle And Join Our Thousands Of Sniper Assassins Worldwide In The Fight Against Oppression!”
Black Power Political Organization (BPPO) is taking credit for #Dallas cop killings on FB https://t.co/shJ0GV7Eet pic.twitter.com/HW6wshHuFd
— Nick Short (@PoliticalShort) July 8, 2016
The account has since been taken down – it is not yet known if it was removed by Facebook or the group itself.
The group has posted dozens of statements on alleged racially-motivated incidents and threatening violent action over at least the several months.
Days ago the group had left an ominous message pledging to get ‘revenge’ for the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling – who was shot repeatedly while being pinned to the ground in an incident captured on mobile phone footage.
A message said: “Don’t worry my people! Justice will be served for Alton Sterling!
“We contacted the police chief Carl Dabadie Jr. He already know what will happen to him, his wide Carla Settoon Dabadie, and his two sons, if he don’t do what we want.
“So continue to support us, and (Black Knights) sniper assassin group.”
The officers were shot dead at a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, Texas, as two snipers are believed to have targeted the officers from an ‘elevated position’.
The protest was carried out peacefully and was drawing to a close when shots rang out and demonstrators fled in terror.
Eye-witnesses described the moment shooting broke out and terrified demonstrators fled for cover.
One said: “A sniper just started shooting. All the cops were getting shot, I just saw cops bending over. There had to be like five or six cops all getting shot down.
“They just kept shooting them. We didn’t know where it was coming from. I didn’t see anybody else get shot it was just cops.”
A suspect traded gunfire with police in a tense stand-off after being cornered in a parking garage before reportedly turning the gun on himself.
Another suspect reportedly told police ‘the end is coming’ and there are bombs ‘across the city’.
At a press conference police confirmed two men and a woman have been arrested.
The protest massacre comes in the wake of the deaths of two black men shot dead by police within hours of each other.
Philando Catile, 32, and Alton Sterling , 37, were both killed in incidents which sparked outrage across the country.
Alton Sterling was shot dead at point blank range after officers pinned him down amid claims he had a gun.
Shocking mobile phone showed footage showing two officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, wrestling Mr Sterling from behind and shoving his face into the concrete on Tuesday.
They attended the scene after an anonymous caller claimed a man was threatening someone with a gun outside a shop.
The two officers are seen pinning Mr Sterling down, before one suddenly shouts: “He’s got a gun.”
The other then pushes his gun into Mr Sterling’s shoulder and yells: “Hey, bro, you f*****g move, I swear to God.”
One officer then appears to shoot him repeatedly in his chest and back.
Just a day later shocking footage emerged of a woman live streaming the aftermath of her boyfriend’s shooting on Facebook Live.
The disturbing footage from Indianapolis shows Lavish Reynolds in a car, with her boyfriend ‘ Philando Castile ‘ heavily bleeding and in agony.
A police officer, from the local force in Falcon Heights, Minneapolis – where the footage was taken on Wednesday – can be seen pointing his gun at Mr Castile, who is nursing a heavy wound in his arm.
She says: “And the officer just shot him in his arm.”
Shouting, a police officer said “Ma’am, keep your hands where they are,” before then adding: “F***!”
Reynolds tells her mobile phone camera “He just shot his arm off” but the officer then screams: “I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hand open.”
Speaking calmly, the woman responds: “You told him to get his ID, sir, you told him to get his driver’s license.”
At that point, her boyfriend stops moving.
She says: “Oh god, don’t tell me he’s dead. Please don’t tell me my boyfriend just went like that… please don’t tell me that he’s gone.
“Please don’t tell me this Lord, please Jesus don’t tell me that he’s gone.
“Please officer don’t tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir.”
The shootings triggered protests on the streets across the US at the issue of the alleged targeting of black men by police officers returned to the public consciousness.
The incidents follow a series of African-American deaths at the hands of police.
Recent high-profile cases include Michael Brown, 18, Eric Garner, 43, and Walter Scott, 50.
US police do not publish figures on the number of people shot dead by officers but independent research shows young black men were nine times more likely to be killed by police in 2015.
Police in the US are estimated to have killed more than 130 black men this year.
Officers Brent Thompson, 43, and Patrick Zamarripa have so far been identified as two of those shot dead.
In an emotional tribute, his stepbrother Dylan Martinez, shared a picture of the officer with another man, thought to be his dad, with the caption: “No father should have to bury his son. You are a hero, Patrick. Love you man. #PrayForDallas”.
Misty McBride was injured when she was shot in the arm and shoulder.
