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Critics push back after CNN anchor calls Dallas gunman’s actions ‘very courageous and brave’

Here's hoping Fredricka Whitfield simply misspoke.

 

Josh Katzowitz

IRL

Posted on Jun 14, 2015   Updated on May 28, 2021, 2:25 pm CDT

While speaking about the lone gunman who opened fire on the headquarters of the Dallas police department late Friday night and who left as many as five suspicious packages nearby, CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield praised the shooter as “very courageous and brave” while interviewing  a legal analyst on Saturday.

Take a look.

(Sorry, this embed was not found.)

As you watch, it’s tempting to believe that Whitfield actually meant to say that the police (and not the gunman) were showing their bravery, but if you look at the quote in print, that isn’t necessarily a plausible explanation.

Said Whitfield, “It was very courageous and brave, if not crazy as well, to open fire on the police headquarters, and now you have this scene, this standoff.”

Crazy might be a good word for it.

No officers were injured in the attack—or by the subsequent bombs that were found—but Dallas police confirmed that a SWAT sniper killed the driver Saturday morning.

Either way, there was immediate pushback on Whitfield’s comments.

Thus far, CNN has had no comment and Whitfield hasn’t updated her Twitter account since Saturday morning.

Photo via CNN

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*First Published: Jun 14, 2015, 12:38 pm CDT