Still traumatized by the recent killing of five police officers, Dallas on Sunday experienced an emotional day of reflection marked by harmony to overcome a tragedy that stirs debate on racial tensions in the US.
The Texan city gradually tries to restore normality after the historic center of Dallas was stained with blood last Thursday.
The sniper, Micah Xavier Johnson, a 25-year-old former Army reservist, turned a peaceful 'Black Lives Matter' protest against police violence towards minorities (especially African Americans) into a butcher's shop that ended the lives of five policemen.
Before dying from C-4 explosives, Johnson confessed his anger over the deaths of two black men at the hands of police this week in Minnesota and Louisiana and said he wanted to "kill white people".
The echo of the slaughter, the worst attack on police in the US since the terrorist attacks on Sep. 11, 2001, reverberated strongly in the sermons delivered during the Sunday service in the city.
About 7,000 gathered at the Potter's House megachurch for an emotional service, led by Bishop T. D. Jakes, according to what the church's spokesman told Efe.
"Those agents gave their lives protecting not only blacks, but white people, Latinos, people of all races. Praise the Lord for these agents," said an African American minister, who was applauded by an excited congregation responding with a loud "Amen."
Also invited to the service at Potter's House Church was Sandra Sterling, the aunt of the slain man in Louisiana. She called for "justice" for the loss of her nephew who was the source of her "strength" and condemned the killing of five officers in the Texas city.
"I'm sorry about what has happened in Dallas. We don't want violence," Sterling told a group of reporters.
She also had words for US President Barack Obama who is scheduled to visit Dallas Tuesday to deliver a speech in honor of the five police officers who lost their lives.
"I would ask him to help us before leaving office (next January). There are laws in Louisiana that are old and need a change," said Sandra Sterling in response to a question from Efe.
A few kilometers from the church, locals still stop by a makeshift memorial built on two police patrol cars which is blanketed by flowers, cards, balloons, flags and stuffed animals at the Dallas Police Department headquarters.
Source: EFE
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