Mistaken Dallas "Suspect" & Brother Say They've Received Death Threats
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DALLAS (CBSMiami) -- A man who was wrongfully identified by police as a suspect in the deadly shooting of officers in Dallas said he has received death threats, CBS station KTVT reported.
As the chaotic events unfolded Thursday night, the Dallas Police Dept. posted a picture of Mark Hughes, seen carrying a rifle as he marched in protest over the recent shooting deaths of two black men at the hands of police, to their social media account. The department accused him of being involved in the shooting that struck 12 officers and left five dead. Two citizens were also wounded in the attack.
This is one of our suspects. Please help us find him! pic.twitter.com/Na5T8ZxSz6
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) July 8, 2016
Hughes told the media that he got a phone call about the photo and immediately "flagged down a police officer" to clear his name and turn in his gun. He says he never fired the weapon and wasn't involved.
Hughes has a weapons permit to legally carry it, he told a reporter.
His brother, Cory Hughes, said after the Dallas Police tweet, they received death threats against them through social media.
"I just looked at my Facebook inbox. I got death threats," Cory Hughes said. "You know, Twitter, people are telling me they want to kill us because somebody that was irresponsible put my brother's image out there, and we were here just for a peaceful protest."
The brothers were released from police custody after an interrogation and an inspection of the gun.
"I just got out of the interrogation room for about 30 minutes with police officers lying, saying that they had video of me shooting, which is a lie, saying that they have witnesses saying that I shot a gun, which is a lie, so I mean, at the end of the day, the system was trying to get me," Hughes said.
The department later corrected their mistake.
This man cooperated, was interviewed& released. He is not a suspect/person of interest. Thank you for help IDing him https://t.co/M1lOkVH3fH
— Emily Black PIO (@EmilyPIODallas) July 8, 2016
However, the Hughes brothers say the damage has already been done in the eyes of public opinion.
"What I'm bothered by is that my brother could've easily been killed because somebody that was irresponsible identified him as a suspect. Not as a person of interest, but a suspect."