Updated at 5:28 p.m.: This story has been revised to include additional comment from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick saying he might have chosen the wrong words and additional comment from Gov. Greg Abbott.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called protesters who ran away from the hail of bullets that rained down on Downtown Dallas on Thursday night "hypocrites" during an interview Friday on Fox News.

"All those protesters last night, they turned around and ran the other way expecting the men and women in blue to protect them. What hypocrites!" an audibly emotional Patrick said.

As Gov. Greg Abbott issued on open letter calling on Texans to calmly unite and come together, Patrick took a more combative tone. He blamed Black Lives Matter protesters for the violence against police and said people "with big mouths are creating situations like we saw last night."

"We have to have their back," Patrick said of police. "And I'm sick and tired of those who are protesting our police and putting their lives in danger."

Patrick said he saw some of the slain officers wheeled past him at a Dallas hospital last night. If the violence against police doesn't stop, he said, police will stop working to protect citizens.

"I do blame people on social media with their hatred toward police," he said. "I do blame former Black Lives Matter protests. .... This has to stop."

Later Friday, during a CNN interview Patrick said "maybe" he chose the wrong words after "seeing a lot death in the last 12 hours." He went on to describe the protesters' expectation of police protection as an "irony of ironies."

His tone was diametrically opposed to Abbott, who took a more measured approach in calling for Texans and Americans to support one another in the aftermath of the tragic Dallas ambush that left five officers slain following a protest of police-involved shootings this week in Louisiana and Minnesota.

"Every life matters," Abbott wrote. "With each innocent life lost, we lose more of our humanity. It is time for us to unite as Texans, as Americans, to say no more."

During a press conference Friday evening at Dallas City Hall, Abbott sidestepped questions about Patrick's remarks and encouraged Texans to focus on what good might come from the tragedy that unfolded in Downtown Dallas.

"We can find purpose in every single challenge that occurs," Abbott said.