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Man incorrectly identified by police as Dallas shooting suspect speaks out

DALLAS — Following the shooting of Dallas police officers and DART officers after a peaceful protest in the city that left 12 officers shot -- five of them killed -- and two civilians wounded, a lone sniper was incorrectly identified by police.

Mark Hughes was misidentified by the Dallas Police Department when he said he was only  a participant in the protest.

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The tweet showing Hughes' face and labelling him a suspect remains up hours later even as Hughes has been cleared and released from police questioning.

KTVT spoke to Mark Hughes after he was released from police questioning.

"I don't know what to say," Hughes told KTVT. "I can't believe it. The crazy thing about it is, that, I was down here. I couldn't get to my vehicle because of the roadblock. Hindsight 20/20, I could have easily been shot."

Hughes said he didn't know he was considered a suspect until he got a phone call.

"Immediately I flagged down a police officer," Hughes said.

His brother, Cory Hughes, said he and his brother were assisting police. "When they started shooting, we went to the cops and asked, 'What can we do? How can we help them?' And so the whole time we're helping cops."

Cory Hughes told KTVT his brother has a license to carry the gun he was pictured with, and he told his brother to hand over his gun to police as shots began to ring out, which is captured on video in the interview.

"At the end of the day we came for a peaceful protest," Cory Hughes said. "We didn't want anybody to be hurt. We came just for cops and the world to understand that those that are being killed by the cops are human, but we understand that cops are human.

"My brother easily could have been killed because somebody that was irresponsible identified him as a suspect. Not as a person of interest but a suspect."

Mark Hughes said he spoke to police after being identified as a suspect and brought in for questioning.

"I just got out of the interrogation room for about 30 minutes with police officers lying, saying they had video of me shooting, which is a lie," Hughes said. "Saying that they have witnesses saying I shot a gun, which is a lie. So, I mean, at the end of the day, the system is trying to get me."

Mark Hughes said he did not get an apology from the department and would not be satisfied with one. Both brothers say they are concerned for their safety, but do not plan to leave Dallas.

Watch the full interview, from KTVT, below: