Reporting from Dallas — The Rev. Jeff Hood had helped helped organize Friday’s protest rally and was feeling a sense of euphoria at how peacefully the event seemed to be unfolding.
Then he heard the crack of gunfire: “Pah, pah, pah-pah-pah,” was how he described it.
Two police officers standing nearby slumped to the ground. The crowd — a mix of protesters, onlookers and law enforcement officers — scattered.
“I saw it. I mean, I saw people drop. I knew,” Hood said.
Hood grabbed his own shirt, instinctively. For a moment he thought he might have been shot. He had not.
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He looked up again and saw a policeman sprinting down the street in the direction of the gunfire.
Hood said he opted to run the other way, shouting to the crowd, “Run, active shooter!”
In the chaotic street scene, he was separated from his wife and feared for her safety. He had a small cross and held it up above the crowd. “That cross very quickly became a shepherd’s crook,” he said, guiding others toward safety.
Larissa Puro, a 26-year-old University of Southern California communications manager who was on vacation in Dallas for a family reunion, had to hole up in the kitchen of the nearby Omni hotel while the police manhunt was underway.
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“We couldn’t enter our hotel, and … police told us to run into the hotel kitchen and said there had been a shooting,” Puro said. “People were crying,” she said. “I feel so awful for all the police officers out there.”
Eniola Aboiye, 26, had stopped by the protest at the invitation of friends on her way home to East Dallas when she saw police cars flying by. She stopped at a gas station on the edge of downtown. In the distance, she heard what sounded like fireworks.
Suddenly a wave of protesters appeared, people running. Some police officers had been shot, someone said.
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Magnus, the 8-year-old son of slain Dallas Police Officer Lorne Ahrens, rides with his father’s coffin during the funeral Wednesday afternoon. Sr. Cpl. Ahrens and four other officers were killed in an attack during a Black Lives Matter protest on July 7.
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Pallbearers carry the casket of Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas on Wednesday afternoon.
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Magnus, the 8-year-old son of slain Dallas Police Officer Lorne Ahrens, speaks to officers after his father’s funeral Wednesday. Sr. Cpl. Ahrens was buried at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas.
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Funeral services are held for Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times )
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People line up outside the funeral service for Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas.
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Vice President Joe Biden, left, Laura Bush and former President George W. Bush join President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the memorial service in Dallas for five slain policemen.
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Dallas Police Chief David Brown, center, listens as President Obama speaks at the memorial service.
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Police officers from across the country and civilians attend a visitation for slain Police Sgt. Michael Smith at Mary Immaculate Church in Farmers Branch, Texas.
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A crowd gathers before the memorial at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, where President Obama and former President George W. Bush spoke.
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Police officers take part in the “Dallas Strong” candlelight vigil at City Hall on July 11, 2016, in honor of the five Dallas police officers killed last week.
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Police officers at the vigil.
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Kristy Zamarripa, daughter of slain Dallas Police Officer Patricio Zamarripa, is held by her grandmother in front of a photo of the officer at the vigil.
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A woman wipes her tears in a section of seats reserved for family members of the slain police officers.
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Dallas Police Officer Victor Guzman, who was at the sniper shooting scene, holds a candle. His wife, Ciprina, is in front of him.
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Family and friends of fallen police officers take part in the vigil.
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Officer Marc Macklemore tries to remain composed during a memorial for the slain officers at the vigil.
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Heidi Smith, center, wife of slain Dallas Police Officer Sgt. Michael Smith, is comforted by her dauther Victoria, left, as they take part in a candlelight vigil at City Hall on Monday.
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Rick Zamarripa, father of slain Officer Patrick Zamarripa, attends the vigil.
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Five portraits of the officers killed last week are displayed at the vigil.
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Honor guards put up the portraits.
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Community members hold hands in prayer at a Dallas church on Sunday.
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Porsha Jackson, right, speaks during a community meeting at a Dallas church on Sunday.
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Prayers continue to be said July 10 as the memorial in front of Dallas police headquarters continues to grow.
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Dallas police officers wipe tears following a prayer July 10.
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People pray July 10 at Dallas police headquarters.
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Black Lives Matter activists hold hands at a protest July 10 in Dallas.
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Black Lives Matter demonstrators share a group hug with All Lives Matter activists July 10 in Dallas.
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Samuel Barnes, left, who was dispatched with emergency medical services after the Dallas attack, watches a Black Lives Matter demonstration July 10.
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Ella Fest, 3, looks at a makeshift memorial in downtown Dallas on Sunday.
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A wounded Shetamia Taylor, center, tears up as she recalls the Dallas police officers who saved her after she was wounded during a sniper attack Thursday night in which five officers were killed. At the news conference at a Dallas hospital, Taylor is surrounded by her sister, Teresa Williams, her husband, Lavar Taylor, and her children behind her.
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Shetamia Taylor, right, who is recovering after being shot, hugs Angie Wisner, who helped save her son during the deadly attack when a gunman killed five police officers and wounded other officers and civilians in Dallas during a peaceful protest.
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Worshippers come together for a service and town hall meeting at the Potter’s House megachurch in Dallas on Sunday, days after five officers were killed by a sniper during a peacerful Black Lives Matter protest. Bishop T.D. Jakes told the mostly black congregation of the city’s police officers: “When wickedness raised its head, they stood up for our protection.”
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Saundra Sterling, an aunt who raised Alton Sterling after his mother died, is welcomed by worshippers at the Potter’s House church in Dallas. Alton Sterling was shot to death by police in Baton Rouge, La., last week.
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Elizabeth Holmes, 87, gives out hugs during a service at the Potter’s House church in Dallas, days after five law enforcement officers were killed by a sniper.
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Father Stephen Jasso greets Rick Zamarripa, father of slain police officer Patrick Zamarripa, during Sunday Mass at All Saints Catholic Church in Dallas on July 10, 2016.
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A picture frame with two portraits of slain police Officer Patrick Zamarripa sits on the pew as family members stand to pray during Sunday Mass at All Saints Catholic Church, in Dallas on July 10, 2016.
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Rick Zamarripa, father of slain police Officer Patrick Zamarripa, weeps during Sunday Mass at All Saints Catholic Church in Dallas on July 10, 2016.
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Dallas residents add to the memorial for the slain police officers.
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People give hugs to Dallas police officers standing outside the memorial for slain officers in the recent attacks in Dallas.
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Tasha Lomoglio sits alone as she visits the memorial for slain police officers outside Dallas Police Headquarters.
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A memorial for the slain Dallas police officers.
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Community members pay their respects at the memorial for the slain officers in the recent attacks in Dallas.
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Police officer M. Argumedo shares encouraging words with Brielle Delgado, 8, at the memorial for slain police officers in Dallas, Texas.
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Tasha Lomoglio, of Dallas, pays her respects in front of a growing memorial at the Dallas police headquarters.
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DART Police officers pray in front of the Dallas police headquarters on Saturday. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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DART Police officers pray in front of the Dallas police headquarters on Saturday. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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A woman weeps at a memorial outside the crime scene where 5 police officers were killed and 7 more wounded, in Dallas, Texas.
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Officers are deployed around Dallas police headquarters because of an unspecified threat.
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Officers secure the scene around Dallas police headquarters because of an unspecified threat.
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Police locked down the area around the Dallas headquarters because of an unspecified threat.
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People wait for lock down to be lifter around Dallas police headquarters after an unspecified threat was made.
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Dallas police officers check out an unspecified threat around the headquarters.
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Mourners grieve in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
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The MVPz, a Central Texas, Softball Team, pray in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
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Assistant Police Chief, Gary Tittle, gets a hug at the Dallas Police Headquarters.
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Seven-year-old Jacob Flanagan greets Assistant Police Chief, Gary Tittle, with his Mom, Jennifer Cobb, in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
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Djuana Franklin is consoled by a passerby as she weeps at the memorial for slain police officers in Dallas. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Investigators walk in a formation on Lamar Street to comb through the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas where a gunman killed five police officers and wounded seven others.
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People pray in front of a growing memorial at the Dallas Police Headquarters.
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Homeland Security Agent, Ron Miller, of San Antonio, works with his bomb sniffing dog, Mattie, along the Earle Cabel Federal Building in downtown Dallas.
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Rachel Simon embraces her daughter Abigail Simon, 13, as they pay their respects to the slain officers at a memorial outside Dallas Police Department.
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Retired Army Sgt. Chandler Davis, pays his respects at the growing memorial in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
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Investigators comb through the crime scene for evidence outside El Centro College on Lamar Street in Dallas where a gunman killed five police officers and wounded seven others.
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Flowers, handwritten notes, balloons, candles and other mementos are left on squad cars parked at the Dallas Police Department in a memorial to the slain officers.
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Djuana Franklin weeps for the slain police officers at a memorial at the Dallas police headquarters.
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Flowers, cards, balloons, candles and other mementos form a makeshift memorial at the Dallas Police Department.
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A large American flag flies at half mast framed by the Dallas skyline in the aftermath of the deadly police shooting.
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Roses are placed on a makeshift memorial near the shooting scene.
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From top left counter clockwise, Fermin Betancourt, Damien Betancourt, 10, Destiny Betancourt, 11, and Police Officer Yuridia Morales pay their respects at the memorial for slain Dallas officers.
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Police Officer Katherine Rhodes, right, embraces Officer Yuridia Morales at a memorial for the shooting victims.
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Flowers, notes, balloons and other mementos are left on squad cars outside Dallas Police headquarters in honor of the slain police officers.
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Shelby Garcia, 16, sticks a hand-written note onto the squad cars meant to memorialize the slain Dallas police officers.
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Kenneth Parsons leans on Veronica Jones as they pay their respects at a memorial for the fallen police officers in Dallas.
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Shelby Garcia, 16, writes a note for the slain Dallas police officers.
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Hand-written personal notes are left to honor the fallen police officers in Dallas.
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Dallas residents join in a “United to Heal” prayer vigil at the Cathedral Guadalupe the day after the sniper attack that left five officers dead.
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An officer wipes a tear as fellow officers adjust flowers left on a police cruiser in front of police headquarters in Dallas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Daniel Bray embraces Emilie Bedell during an interfaith prayer event in Dallas for the victims of the mass shooting that killed five police officers and wounded seven others.
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Concord Church in Dallas hosts a gathering after the sniper attack on police by Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas.
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DALLAS, TX July 8, 2016 Neftali Davila, of Sallas, prays as her husband Mayte holds their newborn, Mateo, as worshipper attend “A United To Heal Prayer Vigil” at the Cathedral Guadalupe July 8, 2016 following a sniper attack by 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas. that left 5 officers dead. (Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times) (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Stacy Powell, center, prays with others at the Concord Church in Dallas following the police shooting.
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Texas Highway Patrol officers help out in downtown Dallas as investigators look for evidence from the sniper attack on police the night before.
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Eleina Martinez, 5, touches Dallas Police Officer Arnie Pargas’ badge, draped with a black band, at a memorial outside police headquarters.
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Community members pray during an interfaith prayer event for the victims of the mass shooting in Dallas.
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Tani Taylor claps for police officers during an interfaith prayer event for the victims of the mass shooting that killed five officers in Dallas.
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Izzy May sobs during an interfaith prayer service for the victims of the police shooting in Dallas.
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During a news conference Friday, Dallas Police Chief David Brown collects himself while talking about Thursday night’s deadly shooting.
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Noelle Hendrix places flowers near the scene of the shooting in downtown Dallas.
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Investigators document the crime scene outside El Centro College, where a sniper killed five police officers and wounding 7 others in Dallas.
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Investigators examine the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas, where a sniper unleashed a barrage of bullets, killing at least five police officers and wounding seven others during a protest over recent police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana.
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Investigators document the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas, where a sniper shot 12 police officers, killing five of them.
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Dallas police officers stand guard at a roadblock to the crime scene at El Centro College in Dallas.
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Investigators search the crime scene outside El Centro College in Dallas where a sniper unleashed a barrage of bullets, killing five police officers and wounding seven others.
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A Dallas police officer, who did not want to be identified, takes a moment as she guards an intersection after the deadly shooting.
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Dallas police officers gather downtown after the deadly shooting.
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Dallas police officers face protesters on the corner of Ross Avenue and Griffin Street after the shooting.
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Police officers stand guard at a barracade following the sniper shooting in Dallas.
Earlier in the day, people rally in Dallas to protest the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in Louisiana and Minnesota, respectively.
(Laura Buckman / AFP / Getty Images)
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Marchers in Dallas.
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A man lies on the ground after yelling, “Don’t shoot me,” at police during the rally.
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“I was definitely worried it was coming my way,” said Aboiye, a singer-songwriter. Then she spotted a young couple who appeared to be in shock.
“I was just feeling I needed to be in solidarity with these people,” she said. Like others, she had been drawn to the downtown protest rally following the fatal shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota. There was, she said, “so much unrest in my heart.”
Amanda Mann had joined the beginning of the protest at Belo Garden Park, and said it had unfolded with speakers who were “positive and proactive.”
The 35-year-old Dallas resident said she was walking to her car when she heard the first barrage of shots, followed by a stampede of protesters trying to flee.
At one point, Mann lay down with several others on the grassy knoll of Dealey Plaza, a downtown park that is best known as the site of the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
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“It was like nothing I had seen before,” Mann said. “We just kept following what the police told us to do.”
Blocks away, middle school teacher Danielle Molina, 32, was about to leave home for an evening walk when her husband called from Children’s Hospital, where he works as an emergency-room concierge, helping patients navigate services.
He had heard about the shooting, noticed the ambulances pouring into neighboring Parkland Hospital and called home to check on her.
“I suddenly started hearing sirens, the helicopters. I could see the trains had stopped running. People were kind of trapped,” she said.
Molina called her father, a former Dallas police officer now working on the police force at Methodist Hospital. He had not much to report.
But her husband did.
He’d stepped outside for some air after the bodies of the five slain police officers were wheeled from the hospital. A throng of police officers and security guards saluted as the grim motorcade passed.
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“You could just feel the respect,” he told her.
His wife was impressed to see how brave the officers were, running toward the gunfire. But she was also impressed by the kindness of the crowd, the young black man she watched through her window coming to the aid of an elderly white woman, lifting her walker so she could clear the light rail tracks and get home.
Many in the crowd were struggling, physically and emotionally. They kept asking the Rev. Hood why. Why had this happened? Why Dallas? Why us?
He told them he wondered the same thing.
“The rest of the night I spent ministering people trying to make some sense of what happened,” he said. He eventually reunited with his wife three hours after the shooting. “At the end of the night I found myself alone, in tears, simply asking how does something so beautiful — hundreds of people nonviolently expressing their grievances — turn into something so evil so quickly?”
Hood stood outside City Hall on Friday with other organizers and said they did not recognize gunman Micah Johnson or his name, had never seen him at a protest.
“Never in our wildest dreams would we think our efforts to save lives would take lives,” said Dominique Alexander of the Next Generation Action Network. Hood nodded. Like many leaders here who had been up all night, he was exhausted. When a fire truck passed, he flinched. “All I know is, 40 hours ago we organized a peaceful protest, and it turned into a nightmare.”
Hennessy-Fiske reported from Dallas and Kaleem reported from Los Angeles.
Molly Hennessy-Fiske was a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times from 2006 to 2022 in Houston, Los Angeles, Washington and the Middle East as bureau chief.
Jaweed Kaleem is an education reporter at the Los Angeles Times, where he covers news and features on K-12 and higher education. He specializes in reporting on campus activism and culture, including issues on free speech, religion, race and politics. Kaleem previously worked for The Times as a Los Angeles-based national correspondent and a London-based foreign correspondent. Follow him on Bluesky @jaweedkaleem.bsky.social and X @jaweedkaleem.
