On July 7, 2016, after police shootings of black individuals in St Paul, Minnesota and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Obama said that "When incidents like this occur, there's a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if it's because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same... This is not just a black issue, not just a Hispanic issue. This is an American issue that we all should care about." That same day, at a protest in Dallas, Texas, an attacker shot and killed multiple officers. On July 17, multiple officers were shot and killed in Baton Rouge amid tensions after the shooting of Alton Sterling. Obama and Black Lives Matter leaders condemned the violence. Obama said, "We may not yet know the motives for this attack, but I want to be clear: there is no justification for violence against law enforcement. None. These attacks are the work of cowards who speak for no one. They right no wrongs. They advance no causes. The officers in Baton Rouge; the officers in Dallas – they were our fellow Americans, part of our community, part of our country, with people who loved and needed them, and who need us now – all of us – to be at our best."