44°
Seven officers and two civilians were also injured in the attack that occurred during what had been a peaceful rally against police-involved shootings in the downtown area of Dallas.
"My heart breaks for the victims of the tragedy in Dallas and their families," Rep. Nita Lowey, whose district includes most of Westchester and all of Rockland, said in a statement. "We must stand with all those who want peace."
Suffern Mayor Ed Markunas, who is a retired police officer, said "the targeting and killing of the police is totally intolerable."
"Let’s not forget that police officers put their lives on the line every single day to protect and serve our communities across this great nation," he added.
The NYPD said it will step up security at its precincts and that officers on foot will now only patrol in pairs until further notice. Mayor Bill de Blasio said there is no evidence of a threat in New York City.
“We can’t tolerate racial injustice & we can’t tolerate attacks on our police officers,” NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said.
Rockland County Executive Ed Day ordered all flags on county buildings tobe lowered to half-staff starting on Friday.
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said his heart "goes out to the families of the officers murdered simply because they had the courage to put on uniform."
"I pray for all those in law enforcement in my community and across America. We must find it within ourselves to peacefully confront these problems that plague us," Molinaro said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for national unity in the wake of the recent shootings in Dallas, Baton Rouge, La., and Falcon Heights, Minn., in a speech delivered at the the Great New York State Fairgrounds Friday afternoon in Syracuse.
"You look at the past few days and you get the sense that America’s demons are challenging America’s better angels," Cuomo said. "I think the country, like a person, our strengths can be our weakness, our greatest strength an be our greatest weakness. This country’s greatest strength is its diversity – we’re not one race, one religion. We come from all different places all across the globe."
The suspect in the Dallas shootings is believed to be 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, of the Dallas area, a veteran who was in the Army Reserves for six years until April 2015 and who served a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Federal law enforcement officials said Friday they believe Johnson acted alone in the well-planned attack, the deadliest on U.S. law enforcement since 9/11.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Harrison and receive free news updates.
