Police killed the gunman, identified by authorities as 25-year-old Micah Johnson. (AFP Photo)
DALLAS:
The targeted killing of five police officers at a protest in Dallas late Thursday was the work of a lone gunman, authorities said Friday, a brutal and methodical act of racial hatred intended as revenge for perceived racial disparity. Before he was killed by a robot-delivered bomb, he told negotiators he had been motivated by police killings of black men.
He wanted to kill white people, he said, especially white officers.
With those words and the hurricane of bullets that came before them, the gunman ripped open already volatile fissures in the nation. At Micah Xavier Johnson's home in the Dallas suburbs, authorities found the well-known tools of the mass murderer: bombmaking and ballistic materials, more guns and ammunition.
The chilling nature and deadly scale of the attack sent shock waves through the country, on a third day of violence that Americans watched in graphic videos, first from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, then from a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.
On Friday evening, another governor appeared before the microphones and called for unity.
Fear rippled through law enforcement nationwide as police chiefs from Washington to Los Angeles ordered patrol officers to go out in pairs for safety. Officers were also shot Friday in Missouri and Georgia; one was in critical condition.
The attack altered almost instantly the boiling debate over excessive force and racial targeting by police, as protesters distanced themselves from the gunman's actions and drew a line between the shooting and their campaigns against violence. And it sharpened an already rancorous political debate, even as the two candidates in the presidential race canceled events.
On Friday, the Texas city of 1.3 million was left raw and hurting. Police huddled together, seeking comfort in circles. Entire swaths of Dallas's gleaming downtown remained a crime scene, with streets blocked by officers and the constant drone of helicopters overhead.
"Texans have always shown trademark resilience, which is needed now more than ever," Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said.
The bloodshed in Dallas marked the deadliest single day for the nation's police since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with five officers killed and seven others injured.
The gunfire began around 9 p.m. Thursday, at the tail end of a peaceful protest over the police shootings this week in Minnesota and Louisiana. Even as people scrambled for cover, some posted videos to social media showing the killings in real time. One video showed a person with an assault-style rifle shooting a police officer in the back at point-blank range. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said the gun was an AR-15.
The gunman at one point fled to a college building downtown.
For hours after the initial assault, police were locked in a standoff with the shooter, exchanging gunfire and negotiating with him. When those talks broke down, Police Chief David Brown said, authorities saw no other option but to send a robot to detonate a bomb near the shooter, killing him.
Police identified the attacker as Johnson, a black 25-year-old from the suburb of Mesquite. A reported "loner," he did not appear to have ties to international terrorism, said a senior U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
An Army veteran, he killed fellow veterans: Four of the five slain officers had served in the military.
Brent Thompson, 43, was a transit police officer and a newlywed. Patrick Zamarripa, 32, had served three tours in Iraq. Michael Krol, 40, had joined the Dallas police in 2008.
Lorne Ahrens, a former semi-pro football player, had been with the department for 14 years. Michael Smith, a father of two, liked to give department stickers to the children at his church.
Seven other officers were injured. Their conditions were unknown.
Johnson's profile picture on his Facebook page, confirmed by a federal law enforcement official, shows him raising a fist in the air, a gesture associated with the black power movement of the 1960s. He posted a similar image of a fist with the text "Black Power."
He had no criminal record, police said. As an Army reservist, he had weapons training, worked in carpentry and masonry, and deployed to Afghanistan once in 2013. He was a former member of an Army engineering company and served in the Individual Ready Reserve at the time of his death, meaning he didn't have to attend regular training or drills but could be called into service, according to records.
Johnson graduated in 2009 from John Horn High School, where he was involved in the JROTC program, said Allison Lewallyn, a spokeswoman for the Mesquite Independent School District. He attended John Horn for three years, and his earlier years were spent in the nearby Garland Independent School District, Lewallyn said.
During his negotiations with police Thursday night, Johnson said he was not involved with any groups and acted alone, authorities said. He spoke lucidly and told authorities at one point that "the end is coming" and talked of bombs being placed downtown, though no explosives were found.
Police initially said Thursday night that they believed two snipers had opened fire "from elevated positions," but on Friday, Rawlings said investigators had determined that only Johnson attacked police.
"By piecing together what was happening at the time after we talked to and interviewed all the officers, there was confusion with everyone running around," Rawlings said at a briefing Friday afternoon.
Rawlings said that Johnson "was a mobile shooter that had written manifestos on how to shoot and move, shoot and move, and he did that."
"He did his damage, but we did our damage to him as well," Rawlings said. "And we believe now that the city is safe and that the suspect is dead, and we can move on to healing."
On Friday evening, signs of the previous night's violence still littered the streets of downtown Dallas. At the center of it all was a 14-story red-brick parking garage, where much of the shooting took place.
Shattered glass was sprayed across the building's plaza.
"You're in a crime scene, sir!" a police officer shouted at a reporter who ventured too close. One man passed out copies of the Ten Commandments to the law enforcement officers guarding the scene.
A woman held an "All Lives Matter" placard. But there was not much of an audience on the largely empty streets for anyone protesting.
Outside police headquarters, a steady stream of locals paid their respects, draping flowers and toys across police cars.
Gathered in the shade, a band of officers watched quietly.
Several had rushed from their homes the night before to try to help. "I pulled on my uniform and came to protect my brothers," said one officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "I haven't slept - I can't. I knew every one of the guys who died."
President Barack Obama ordered flags flown at half-staff until Tuesday, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch vowed that the Justice Department would do anything it could to help with the investigation. Lynch also said she was "heartbroken" by the loss and urged peaceful protesters not to "be discouraged by those who use your lawful actions as cover for their heinous violence."
Meanwhile, in Dallas - after the shooting, after police dealt with the gunman, after the chaos gave way to grief - Rawlings said he couldn't shake a memory from those early hours. He remembered the moment he learned that a fifth officer had died.
"We were thinking, when is it going to stop? Five officers killed - this just doesn't happen in the United States of America."
Video: What we know so far
© 2016 The Washington Post
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
He wanted to kill white people, he said, especially white officers.
With those words and the hurricane of bullets that came before them, the gunman ripped open already volatile fissures in the nation. At Micah Xavier Johnson's home in the Dallas suburbs, authorities found the well-known tools of the mass murderer: bombmaking and ballistic materials, more guns and ammunition.
The chilling nature and deadly scale of the attack sent shock waves through the country, on a third day of violence that Americans watched in graphic videos, first from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, then from a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.
On Friday evening, another governor appeared before the microphones and called for unity.
Fear rippled through law enforcement nationwide as police chiefs from Washington to Los Angeles ordered patrol officers to go out in pairs for safety. Officers were also shot Friday in Missouri and Georgia; one was in critical condition.
The attack altered almost instantly the boiling debate over excessive force and racial targeting by police, as protesters distanced themselves from the gunman's actions and drew a line between the shooting and their campaigns against violence. And it sharpened an already rancorous political debate, even as the two candidates in the presidential race canceled events.
On Friday, the Texas city of 1.3 million was left raw and hurting. Police huddled together, seeking comfort in circles. Entire swaths of Dallas's gleaming downtown remained a crime scene, with streets blocked by officers and the constant drone of helicopters overhead.
"Texans have always shown trademark resilience, which is needed now more than ever," Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said.
The bloodshed in Dallas marked the deadliest single day for the nation's police since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with five officers killed and seven others injured.
The gunfire began around 9 p.m. Thursday, at the tail end of a peaceful protest over the police shootings this week in Minnesota and Louisiana. Even as people scrambled for cover, some posted videos to social media showing the killings in real time. One video showed a person with an assault-style rifle shooting a police officer in the back at point-blank range. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said the gun was an AR-15.
The gunman at one point fled to a college building downtown.
For hours after the initial assault, police were locked in a standoff with the shooter, exchanging gunfire and negotiating with him. When those talks broke down, Police Chief David Brown said, authorities saw no other option but to send a robot to detonate a bomb near the shooter, killing him.
Police identified the attacker as Johnson, a black 25-year-old from the suburb of Mesquite. A reported "loner," he did not appear to have ties to international terrorism, said a senior U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
An Army veteran, he killed fellow veterans: Four of the five slain officers had served in the military.
Brent Thompson, 43, was a transit police officer and a newlywed. Patrick Zamarripa, 32, had served three tours in Iraq. Michael Krol, 40, had joined the Dallas police in 2008.
Lorne Ahrens, a former semi-pro football player, had been with the department for 14 years. Michael Smith, a father of two, liked to give department stickers to the children at his church.
Seven other officers were injured. Their conditions were unknown.
Johnson's profile picture on his Facebook page, confirmed by a federal law enforcement official, shows him raising a fist in the air, a gesture associated with the black power movement of the 1960s. He posted a similar image of a fist with the text "Black Power."
He had no criminal record, police said. As an Army reservist, he had weapons training, worked in carpentry and masonry, and deployed to Afghanistan once in 2013. He was a former member of an Army engineering company and served in the Individual Ready Reserve at the time of his death, meaning he didn't have to attend regular training or drills but could be called into service, according to records.
Johnson graduated in 2009 from John Horn High School, where he was involved in the JROTC program, said Allison Lewallyn, a spokeswoman for the Mesquite Independent School District. He attended John Horn for three years, and his earlier years were spent in the nearby Garland Independent School District, Lewallyn said.
During his negotiations with police Thursday night, Johnson said he was not involved with any groups and acted alone, authorities said. He spoke lucidly and told authorities at one point that "the end is coming" and talked of bombs being placed downtown, though no explosives were found.
Police initially said Thursday night that they believed two snipers had opened fire "from elevated positions," but on Friday, Rawlings said investigators had determined that only Johnson attacked police.
"By piecing together what was happening at the time after we talked to and interviewed all the officers, there was confusion with everyone running around," Rawlings said at a briefing Friday afternoon.
Rawlings said that Johnson "was a mobile shooter that had written manifestos on how to shoot and move, shoot and move, and he did that."
"He did his damage, but we did our damage to him as well," Rawlings said. "And we believe now that the city is safe and that the suspect is dead, and we can move on to healing."
On Friday evening, signs of the previous night's violence still littered the streets of downtown Dallas. At the center of it all was a 14-story red-brick parking garage, where much of the shooting took place.
Shattered glass was sprayed across the building's plaza.
"You're in a crime scene, sir!" a police officer shouted at a reporter who ventured too close. One man passed out copies of the Ten Commandments to the law enforcement officers guarding the scene.
A woman held an "All Lives Matter" placard. But there was not much of an audience on the largely empty streets for anyone protesting.
Outside police headquarters, a steady stream of locals paid their respects, draping flowers and toys across police cars.
Gathered in the shade, a band of officers watched quietly.
Several had rushed from their homes the night before to try to help. "I pulled on my uniform and came to protect my brothers," said one officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "I haven't slept - I can't. I knew every one of the guys who died."
President Barack Obama ordered flags flown at half-staff until Tuesday, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch vowed that the Justice Department would do anything it could to help with the investigation. Lynch also said she was "heartbroken" by the loss and urged peaceful protesters not to "be discouraged by those who use your lawful actions as cover for their heinous violence."
Meanwhile, in Dallas - after the shooting, after police dealt with the gunman, after the chaos gave way to grief - Rawlings said he couldn't shake a memory from those early hours. He remembered the moment he learned that a fifth officer had died.
"We were thinking, when is it going to stop? Five officers killed - this just doesn't happen in the United States of America."
Video: What we know so far
© 2016 The Washington Post
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
