Gov. Mary Fallin has ordered Oklahoma and American flags flown at half-staff on all state property through Wednesday morning.
Oklahoma's elected officials and city leaders were quick to condemn Thursday night's sniper attacks in its southern neighbor. Dallas is just over a three hours drive south of Oklahoma City. U.S. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), who grew up in Dallas and attended the University of Texas at Austin, met with police officers in Guthrie Friday afternoon.
"This is an anxious time for all law enforcement and their families," Lankford said in a statement. "I also pray for national unity and peace. All Americans must come together right now and speak out boldly against violence.”
Lankford's colleague, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, said the country was founded on First Amendment principles of freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, and the government's role is to make sure those are protected.
"We need to be talking about healing our nation and not dividing it," Inhofe said in a statement.
PD upheld their pledge to protect & serve, shielding peaceful protestors. These are the powerful images to remember: https://t.co/2FMrLAscNd
— Sen. Jim Inhofe (@JimInhofe) July 8, 2016
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said in a statement issued through the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a group he began leading as president just days ago, that his and Citty's counterparts in Dallas have been a "constant and calming force" in the day after the attack.
“From all reports, the Dallas Police Department did everything right. There was no inappropriate show of force, the demonstration had been peaceful and was winding down, and there were positive interactions between the officers and the demonstrators," Cornett said in a statement. "Police officers lost their lives at the hands of several bad actors, and we’ll know more about what happened as the investigation unfolds."
Cornett also expressed support for the mayors of Baton Rouge, Louisana and Falcon Heights, Minn., which both saw shootings of African-American men by police officers earlier this week. Thursday night's protest in Dallas was a reaction to those events.
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