D.C. Police Patrolling in Pairs After Dallas Attacks

Washington, D.C. — Officers in the city will be patrolling in pairs Friday after the killing of five Dallas police officers late Thursday.

The officers were monitoring a peaceful march through downtown Dallas when it is believed that snipers in at least two locations opened fire on police. Seven others officers were wounded.

"It's hard not be shaken up as a police officer when you see what unfolded in Dallas," D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said during a press conference Friday morning.

D.C. Police added officers to the midnight shift immediately following the shootings Thursday night, according to WTOP.

“It doesn’t make you much safer,” Lanier said, referring to a situation like Dallas. “But it makes us a little bit more comfortable.”

More at Patch:

• Snipers Kill 5 Officers, Wound 7, During Protest
• 'Blue Lives Matter' Says LAPD Chief Charlie Beck
• Shots Fired at Officer in Roswell, Ga

There are at least six protests planned for the D.C. area this weekend, according to WUSA9.

Lanier also addressed the issue of gun control, a topic that will likely receive renewed attention after the Dallas shootings.

“If you have a weapon of that caliber — AR-15s with extended magazines and multiple rounds of ammunition — you can kill a lot of people very quickly. And in this case, those people were police officers," she said.

In comments to the press in Warsaw, Poland, President Barack Obama also mentioned gun control measures as one response to the shootings.

"We also know that when people are armed with powerful weapons, unfortunately, it makes attacks like these more deadly and more tragic," Obama said. "And, in the days ahead, we're going to have to consider those realities as well."