Obama cuts short visit to Spain after Dallas shootings

A police car decorated as a public memorial is seen outside Dallas police headquarters in Dallas, the United States, July 8, 2016. Five police officers were killed and seven others injured as two snipers opened fire during a protest against officer-involved shootings across the United States on Thursday night. [Photo/Xinhua]

MADRID - US President Barack Obama will cut short his visit in Spain and travel to Texas where five policemen were killed on Thursday night, Spanish state TV network RTVE has reported, quoting a White House spokesman.

The shootings in Dallas have forced a change to the schedule for Obama, who is the first US President to make an official visit to Spain in 15 years. Obama will visit Dallas early next week.

Obama will cancel his planned visit to Seville, where he was due to arrive shortly before midnight on Saturday.

Obama's original schedule was to travel from Seville to the U.S. military base of Rota in southwest Spain, before arriving in Madrid on Sunday night. According to the original arrangements, Obama will have lunch with Spanish King Felipe VI at the Royal Palace on Monday and hold meetings with Spanish political leaders and young Spaniards. Now, he has to cancel his visit to Seville and several meetings.

"The President will leave (Poland, where he is attending the NATO summit) to Madrid, Spain where he will spend the (Saturday) night," informed the White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, who added that on Sunday Obama would meet acting Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and "other government officials."

Obama will then travel from Madrid to Rota and from there, "return to Washington on Sunday night, a day earlier than planned," according to the spokesman.