WARSAW, Poland – President Barack Obama on Friday tried to channel Americans’ horror and outrage over the targeted shootings of police officers, decrying the fatal attack in Dallas as “despicable” and declaring there was no justification for the violence.
“I believe that I speak for every single American when I say that we are horrified over these events, and that we stand united with the people and the police department in Dallas,” Obama said early Friday. He spoke just hours after gunfire killed five officers and wounded seven others during protests over fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana.
Obama noted the facts were still coming to light but “what we do know is that there has been a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement.”
The president’s message was delivered at long distance as he traveled overseas for talks with NATO and European Union leaders. The distance, and the death toll, presented not-unfamiliar problems for this White House: whether to let a mass shooting upend the president’s travel plans and how to participate in a moment of national grief from afar.
The White House showed no signs of cutting Obama’s trip short. He is slated to attend meetings in WarsawSaturday before heading on to Spain, where his itinerary includes cultural stops and meetings with Spanish leaders. He is not due back in Washington until Monday.