Dallas College Still Reeling From Police Shooting

The tragic shooting left five police officers dead and injured seven others.

UPDATE: CS originally reported that no staff or students at El Centro College were injured during the ambush of Dallas police officers last week. However, a statement posted to the college’s website is now reporting that two police officers guarding campus entrances were injured.

Cpl. Bryan Shaw was struck by a bullet. He was treated at the scene and then returned to assist other officers and civillians. Both of Officer John Abbott’s legs were injured by flying glass that was struck by bullets. He tended to his own injuries and then returned to the scene to assist others.
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A community college in Dallas was closed last week following the shooting during a Black Lives Matter protest near campus July 7 that left five police officers dead.

El Centro College in downtown Dallas had locked its doors for the BLM protest as a precaution while several evening classes were taking place on campus that night, reports The Washington Post.

When gunshots were heard around 9 p.m., students sheltered in their classrooms, although no students or staff members at the school were injured. Three El Centro buildings were damaged during the shootings.

Video taken by a security officer at the school (seen above) shows law enforcement instructing students to hide in bathrooms as gunshots can be heard in the background. Five campus security officers were on duty during the shooting and are working with Dallas police in their investigation.

Students in the school’s main buildings at the time of the shooting were taken to Dallas police headquarters after midnight. A day after the shooting, police worked to clear buildings in case of explosives and review surveillance footage, including some video from the college’s surveillance system.

“Security cameras are located throughout the building,” said Ann Hatch, a spokeswoman for the Dallas County Community College District, on July 8. “Following the shooting in Dallas last night, the security cameras went down when the college website crashed, overloaded by the volume of hits the website received. IT staff members are working to restore both the website and the security cameras.”

Summer enrollment at the school is approximately 7,500 students. Counseling is being offered to students on campus this week.

To support the victims of Thursday’s shootings and their families, click here.

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