![\"D2\"](\"https:\/\/hcsblogdotorg.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/07\/d2.png?w=620\")
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Exploiting Urban Geography<\/strong><\/p>\n The shooting of 14 people during a protest march, 12 of them police officers, is without question a terrorist-style assault on the police force of one of America\u2019s largest cities.<\/p>\n Five Dallas cops, including a Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer, died from a gunman who declared he acted alone and wanted to kill police officers, white people and white police officers, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said. The ambush follows shootings of black men by police officers in Baton Rouge and Minneapolis.<\/p>\n Police said one male gunman, Micah X. Johnson, died inside a downtown community college building after cops sent in a robot, which blew up an attached explosive device. A female suspect who allegedly fired at officers was arrested overnight.<\/p>\n Dallas Police said at least two gunmen had fired at them from a \u201ctriangulated\u00a0\u2026 elevated position.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n There is mixed information about key details. For one, it\u2019s not clear if there were one or<\/em> two shooters\u200a\u2014\u200aor more\u200a\u2014\u200aor if any shooter was actually on elevated ground. Two men arrested while driving away from downtown were uninvolved in the shootings, as was a man photographed while carrying a rifle during the march.<\/p>\n However, if the gunman or gunmen<\/em> acted as snipers, they would have exploited a particular vulnerability of downtown Dallas\u2019 urban geography.<\/strong><\/p>\n More than 50 years ago, ex-Marine and Marxist gunman Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated Pres. John F. Kennedy from a sniper\u2019s perch\u200a\u2014\u200anow Dallas\u2019 most famous tourist attraction\u200a\u2014\u200aat Dealey Plaza blocks from where Thursday\u2019s gunmen unleashed his rampage.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t to force a comparison, but to stress that a sniper\u200a\u2014\u200aif he was perched\u2014 would have been at an extreme advantage over anyone in the street. Dallas, like many so-called \u201cSunbelt cities,\u201d has an urban area that is both built up and yet is relatively less<\/em> dense than many other downtowns.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also to note an aspect of America\u2019s modern security culture that has resolutely failed. We can build subtle barriers against car bombs and stop terrorists from boarding airplanes, but we\u2019ve done little to prevent people with high-powered rifles from striking down their fellow citizens.<\/p>\n Here is a digitally-altered photo from Google Earth showing the location of the attack:<\/p>\n![\"D1\"](\"https:\/\/hcsblogdotorg.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/07\/d1.png?w=620\")
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