C N N's Fredricka Whitfield apologizes for calling Dallas gunman 'courageous and brave' (12604 hits)
CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield issued an apology Sunday for calling the gunman accused of opening fire at the Dallas police headquarters "courageous and brave."
"Yesterday during a segment on the Dallas police department attack, I used the words 'courageous and brave,' when discussing the gunman. I misspoke and in no way believe the gunman was courageous nor brave," Whitfield said.
The gunman, later identified as James Boulware, ambushed Dallas police headquarters on Saturday morning, police said.
The Dallas P.D. says he planted pipe bombs outside police headquarters and opened fire on the building from his parked van before being shot and killed by a police sniper.
According to Dallas Police Chief David Brown, the suspect blamed police for having lost custody of his son and for "accusing him of being a terrorist."
During its news coverage of the story, Whitfield made her controversial comments as she spoke to CNN legal analyst Philip Holloway.
"It was very courageous and brave, if not crazy as well, to open fire on the police headquarters, and now you have this scene, this standoff. So you believe these are the hallmarks of more than one person's involvement," she said.
Several media outlets criticized Whitfield in stories about her comments. She issued her apology during Sunday's 2 p.m. ET broadcast.
