LeBron James Expresses Feelings About Recent Shootings on Twitter

"We are all hurting tonight," LeBron James said in a tweet at 1:35 a.m. Friday morning in response to the horrific shootings in Dallas that killed five police officers.

James also tweeted out the hashtags #AltonSterling and #PhilandoCastile, referencing two black men recently shot and killed by police officers — the Alton Sterling shooting in Baton Rouge and the Philando Castile shooting in Minneapolis. Videos have surfaced from both of these shootings; the aftermath of the Philando Castile shooting was broadcast via Facebook Live by his girlfriend right after Castile was shot.

At around 10 p.m. on July 7, James tweeted, "This article says it all man! Sickens me and I shed multiple tears about it all," referencing an article on Time.com, Philando Castile Was a Role Model to Hundreds of Kids, Colleagues Say.

This isn't the first time LeBron has expressed his sentiments about police violence toward black men. In December 2014, James wore a shirt with the words "I CAN'T BREATHE" written across the front. These were the last words of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died while in a police chokehold over the sale of loose cigarettes.

President Barack Obama applauded James for wearing the shirt dedicated to Garner and said in an interview with People that more sports stars should use their influence to address social issues.

Obama called the recent shooting of police officers in Dallas "vicious, calculated and despicable," adding that "Police in Dallas were on duty, doing their jobs, keeping people safe during peaceful protests."

[Image by Keith Allison (Flickr) Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 2.0]