Shootings, both civillian and police.

After two days of two black men being shot, now 4 Dallas Police Officers are dead after being shot, and 11 others are injured. 

As I write this, the chief suspect in the shooting of 11 Dallas Police officers is negotiating with police, exchanging shots with them and shouting defiance. 

This person has not stopped shooting. He began this thing by shooting Police officers and now he's holed up, claiming that the end is coming and that there are bombs all over the city. The presumed motive at this hour is retaliation for the killing of two black men, one in Louisiana and one in Minnesota. Rumors are rampant of multiple shooters, accomplices and mystery people in camouflage clothes running about. Speculation is rampant and nobody actually knows anything for certain.
This is the cycle of violence that I dreaded coming. Some person or persons unknown have decided to shoot at police, apparently in retaliation. Police will of course crack down, and double or triple down on militarization, patrolling the streets in bearcats. Which will cause people to retaliate, which will... etc etc. The gun ban crowd are now coming out of the woodwork, as if that will help. It won't.
People bent on shooting it out with police are not going to observe any kind of gun ban, and by the time they're spotted in public it will already be too late to stop them before the shooting starts. But then, it was too late to stop them from shooting the moment they acquired a firearm in the first place.  Barring some sort of corrective action -- and soon -- things are going to get worse before they get better. And the United States will continue to slide down into one kind of hell or the other.

Update : (7:14 am 7/8/16)
New casualty figures : 12 police officers shot in total, 5 of whom died. There are further reports of at least 2 civilians being shot, but no details as of yet. 

Addendum :  People , try to remember that it is possible to be against police misuse of force, to support the good people of the black community who have seen too many of their fellows gunned down, while still being supportive of the good police officers who are out there and who outnumber the poor ones. They aren't all bullies. They aren't all racists. The ones who are good cops deserve our support.