'Enough': Dallas Reacts To Baton Rouge Police Shooting On Sunday That Killed Three Officers

Five stories that have North Texas talking: One day after Dallas buried the last of its five officers, a shooter killed three more in Baton Rouge; see which Texans will attend the Republican National Convention; a father and son with North Texas roots were lost in the Nice attack; and more.

Before July 7, Dallas and Baton Rouge weren’t connected in the same way they are now. Three shooting incidents have gone back and forth between the states in less than two weeks.

On July 5, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was killed by police in Louisiana’s capital. Sterling’s death, along with the officer-involved shooting of Philando Castile in Minnesota on the following day, inspired protests across the country, including the one in downtown Dallas that Thursday night.

Lone gunman Micah Xavier Johnson, who police later killed, was upset over the deaths of Sterling and Castile, Dallas police said. The 25-year-old killed five officers and injured 11 others, including civilians. Ten days later, a shooter identified as Gavin Eugene Long killed three officers and injured three more in Baton Rouge on Sunday morning, according to NPR and The Associated Press.    

With the wound still fresh, several Dallasites took to social media to offer their condolences to the Baton Rouge victims. [NPR]

• Blue Bell introduced “Cookie Two Step,” a combination of its top-selling flavors. Texans and Blue Bell have been through a lot in the past year — the listeria outbreak of 2015, the long road back to grocery store shelves and a dire flavor mix-up in May. Finally, there is some sweet news for Texans and their serious, long-term relationship with Blue Bell. The company announced its new flavor just in time for National Ice Cream Day on Sunday. Cookie Two Step is “vanilla-flavored ice cream with chocolate creme cookies and chocolate chip cookie dough.” Celebrate what’s left of National Ice Cream Month accordingly. [KERA News]

• Donald Trump’s VP pick worked with a Dallasite on border legislation 10 years ago. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence partnered with then-U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas on legislation that would have obligated then-President Bush to certify Texas-Mexico border security before lawmakers could move forward on crafting a proposed guest-worker program, the New York Times reported. According to the The Texas Tribune: “The Pence-Hutchison plan is the most striking example of how Pence's overall tone on illegal immigration has been less divisive than Trump’s deport-them-all, build-a-wall approach.” The presidential pair, described “as different as night and day,” will attend the Republican National Convention, which kicks off today in Cleveland, Ohio. See who’s going. [The Texas Tribune, The New York Times]

• Need legal advice? Try YouTube. By now, North Texans should know the Texas Law Hawk. Bryan Wilson of Fort Worth has produced several viral videos for his criminal defense practice. His “explosive” aesthetic and compelling storylines, or perhaps sheer volume, presented in his commercials landed him a Super Bowl spot in February. Texas Standard wonders if these viral law ads are a new staple of the Internet, or possibly, a helpful way to get legal advice. Like, “Don’t eat your weed.” Two Waco lawyers sing about the dangers of hiding small amounts of marijuana from the police. The video, published in September, has been circulating recently. [Texas Standard]

• A father and son with North Texas roots were killed in the Nice, France attack on Bastille Day. Sean Copeland, 51, and his 11-year-old son, Brodie, were celebrating Bastille Day, watching fireworks, at the beach in Nice, when a truck drove into the crowd, KERA News reported. They were two of the 84 killed in the attack, which French officials are investigating as a terror attack. The Copeland family lived in Prosper, a town just north of Frisco, before moving to Lakeway, near Austin in 2014. Brodie had been a student at Folsom Elementary in Prosper ISD. Sean attended the University of North Texas in 1984. Here’s how you can help the Copeland Family. [KERA News]