Dallas was one of many cities with marches and demonstrations Thursday evening against police killings, in the wake of the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.
Shetamia Taylor, 37, was attending a peaceful protest rally in downtown Dallas with her four sons on Thursday night when the event was overtaken by chaos and carnage.
Snipers opened fire on officers at the demonstration, where people were protesting against the recent fatal police shootings of two black men, Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota.
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Amid the spray of bullets, Taylor frantically threw herself in front of her children as the boys tried to run to safety. She was shot in the right calf while shielding her 15-year-old son on the ground. The other three boys scattered, Taylor’s sister, Theresa Williams, told ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA.
“She jumped on top to cover him on the ground as she pushed him in between two cars in the curb,” Williams said. “All she could think about was her other three boys — where are they at.”
Taylor lay there protecting her son for about five minutes before police rescued them. She underwent surgery early this morning and is expected to recover, Williams said.
“She’s not so much worried about the gunshot wound she has on her leg,” Williams told WFAA. “We’re watching the news in the hospital room, and all she can do is say, ‘Lord, be with those families of those police officers.’ And…
… that’s what she kept repeating.”
At least 11 police officers were shot ambush-style by the snipers at the rally Thursday night, officials said.
Five officers were killed. The conditions of the seven others remain unknown. Taylor was one of two civilians injured.
Taylor was separated from some of her sons in the confusion and panic. Her other boys were stuck behind a police barricade at a hotel near a parking garage where officers engaged in a standoff with a suspect for several hours.
Three suspects are in custody and a fourth died during a standoff in a parking garage, although on Friday morning police suggested they believe the person who died may have acted alone. Police detonated a bomb to try to “blast him out,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, killing him.
We continue to pray for Shetamia, her family, the families of the police officers and all of those who are hurting. Even as the physical wounds heal, there are some mental wounds that need to heal as well.
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