Donald Trump, who canceled a campaign appearance in Miami on Friday, called for restoring "law and order" and "the confidence of our people to be safe and secure in their homes and on the street" after five Dallas police officers were killed in a sniper ambush on Thursday.
"Last night's horrific execution-style shootings of 12 Dallas law enforcement officers, five of whom were killed and seven wounded, is an attack on our country," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said in a statement. "It is a coordinated, premeditated assault on the men and women who keep us safe.
"We must restore law and order. We must restore the confidence of our people to be safe and secure in their homes and on the street."
"The senseless, tragic deaths of two people in Louisiana and Minnesota reminds us how much more needs to be done," Trump said.
A gunman identified as Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, fired the shots from a high-powered rifle at the end of a rally in downtown Dallas.
The rally was in protest of police killings of African-American men in Baton Rouge, La., and just outside St. Paul, Minn.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Johnson told officers that he was upset by the two shootings earlier this week and that he wanted to kill whites, "especially white officers."
Johnson was chased into a parking garage, where he exchanged gunfire with officers — and he was later killed with a robot-delivered bomb, Brown said.
The confrontation followed the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"This morning, I offer my thoughts and prayers for all of the victims' families, and we pray for our brave police officers and first-responders who risk their lives to protect us every single day," Trump said.
"Our nation has become too divided. Too many Americans feel like they've lost hope," he continued. "Crime is harming too many citizens.
"Racial tensions have gotten worse, not better. This isn't the American Dream we all want for our children.
"This is a time, perhaps more than ever, for strong leadership, love and compassion," Trump said. "We will pull through these tragedies."
Trump also posted this tweet earlier Friday:
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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