DALLAS — A man accused in a fatal shooting spree that killed five Dallas police officers and wounded nine other people was a former Army reservist who served a tour in Afghanistan, officials said Friday.
Police used a “bomb robot” early Friday to end a multi-hour standoff in a downtown Dallas parking garage and kill a suspect identified as Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, a Dallas-area resident who said he “wanted to kill white people,” officials said.
Those injured in the attack included seven police officers and two civilians.
The shooting broke out late Thursday — the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — during what had been a peaceful protest against shootings by police officers that claimed the lives of black men in Minneapolis and Baton Rouge, La. About 800 people were marching through downtown, flanked by about 100 police officers, when the gunfire began.
It remains unclear whether Johnson was the only one involved in the ambush that broke out during a demonstration to protest recent police shootings of two African American men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
At least three other people were taken into custody in connection with the shooting Thursday night, but they have not been identified and no information has been given on their possible roles in the attack.
Officials had originally said that multiple snipers opened fire on police, but said they were told by the gunman during the standoff that he was acting alone.
“This was a well-planned, well thought-out, evil tragedy by these suspects… We won’t rest until we bring everyone involved to justice,” Dallas Police Chief David Brown told reporters.
“We are determined not to let this person steal this democracy from us,” he added.
The end to the standoff with Johnson came after attempted negotiations “broke down” and turned into “an exchange of gunfire with the suspect,” Brown said at an earlier news conference Friday morning. At one point, the gunman had told officials “the end is coming, and he’s going to hurt and kill more of us,” Brown said.
Johnson had no known criminal history or ties to terror groups, a U.S. law enforcement official said, and had relatives in Mesquite, Texas, which is just east of Dallas.
In a Facebook post, Johnson’s sister mourned the loss of her brother and questioned why he had gone to the downtown demonstration.
“I keep saying it’s not true… my eyes hurt from crying,” Nicole Johnson wrote in a post she later deleted. Minutes later, she posted again. “The news will say what they think but those that knew him know this wasn’t like him,” she wrote. “This is the biggest loss we’ve had.”
Outside City Hall on Friday, activists said they did not recognize Johnson or his name, and had never seen him at a protest.
“Never in our wildest dreams would we think our efforts to save lives would take lives,” protest organizer Dominique Alexander said.
Military records provided by the Department of Defense say that Johnson served in the U.S. Army Reserve as a carpentry and masonry specialist from March 2009 to April 2015, including a tour in Afghanistan from November 2013 to July 2014 with the 420th Engineer Brigade.
Authorities believe Johnson belonged to an informal gun club and took frequent target practice, according to a law enforcement official.
U.S. Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch said federal law enforcement agencies already are cooperating in the investigation.
“We intend to provide any assistance that we can to investigate the attack and also to help heal a community that has been severely shaken and deeply scarred by an unfathomable tragedy,” Lynch said at a news conference in Washington.
“Our hearts are broken by this loss,” she said.
In Warsaw earlier, President Obama also expressed condolences to the families of victims in Dallas.
“There has been a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement,” Obama said. “… There is no possible justification for these kinds of attacks, or any violence against law enforcement. Justice will be done.”
Brown said a hostage negotiator spoke with the gunman at length before he was killed about 2:30 a.m. The chief said the attacker said he was upset “with white people” and with recent police shootings. The suspect also said that he was not affiliated with any groups and that he acted alone, Brown said.
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A makeshift memorial grows outside of the Dallas police department headquarters on July 12, 2016.
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A group of motorcycles, organized by the group Ride DFW, ride past the memorial in front of police headquarters to pay respects in Dallas on July 10, 2016.
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Mourners visit the Police Headquarters memorial for officers killed in the recent sniper attack in Dallas on July 10, 2016.
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Officers are deployed around Dallas police headquarters because of an unspecified threat.
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Dallas police officers check out an unspecified threat around the headquarters.
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Seven-year-old Jacob Flanagan greets Assistant Police Chief, Gary Tittle, with his Mom, Jennifer Cobb, in front of the Dallas Police Headquarters.
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Djuana Franklin weeps for the slain police officers at a memorial at the Dallas police headquarters.
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Flowers, handwritten notes, balloons, candles and other mementos are left on squad cars parked at the Dallas Police Department in a memorial to the slain officers.
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Rachel Simon embraces her daughter Abigail Simon, 13, as they pay their respects to the slain officers at a memorial outside Dallas Police Department.
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A large American flag flies at half mast framed by the Dallas skyline in the aftermath of the deadly police shooting.
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Flowers, cards, balloons, candles and other mementos form a makeshift memorial at the Dallas Police Department.
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Investigators comb through the crime scene for evidence outside El Centro College on Lamar Street in Dallas where a gunman killed five police officers and wounded seven others.
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The residence of Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, following the fatal shootings of five police officers on July 8, 2016 in Mesquite, Texas. Johnson has been identified as the suspected sniper in the fatal shooting of five police officers, and injuring seven more at a demonstration held on July 7, 2016 in Dallas, Texas.
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Police Officer Katherine Rhodes, right, embraces Officer Yuridia Morales at a memorial for the shooting victims.
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From top left counter clockwise, Fermin Betancourt, Damien Betancourt, 10, Destiny Betancourt, 11, and Police Officer Yuridia Morales pay their respects at the memorial for slain Dallas officers.
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Dallas police officers comfort each other Friday, July 8, 2016, in Dallas in front of police cars decorated as a public memorial in front of police headquarters, in honor of Dallas police who were killed Thursday.
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Dallas Police Chief David Brown pauses at a prayer vigil following the deaths of five police officers last night during a Black Live Matter march on July 8, 2016 in Dallas, Texas.
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A Dallas police cruiser sits along Griffin Street near the parking garage, rear left, where an active investigation scene is ongoing, July 8, 2016, in Dallas.
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People pray at a faith vigil at Thanks-Giving Square in Dallas, Texas on July 8, 2016, following the shootings during a peaceful protest on July 7 which left 5 police officers dead.
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Notes of support and sympathy are taped to a Dallas Police Department squad car Friday, July 8, 2016, outside police headquarters in Dallas. A Black Lives Matter rally in the area the night before turned deadly when a gunman killed five police officers.
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People gather in a prayer vigil following the shooting deaths of five police officers last night during a Black Live Matter march on July 8, 2016 in Dallas, Texas.
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Community members pray during interfaith prayer event June 8, 2016, in Dallas, for the victims of the shooting that killed 5 police officers and wounded 7 others.
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Dallas resident Daniel Bray embraces Emilie Bedell during an interfaith prayer eventon July 8, 2016, in Dallas for the victims of the mass shooting that killed 5 police officers and wounded 7 others.
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Ethan Boothe, center, talks to his sons Greyson Boothe, 8, left, and Austin Boothe, 10, right, to explain the significance of the interfaith prayer event held July 8, 2016, for the victims of the shooting that killed 5 police officers and wounded 7 others Thursday night in Dallas.
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Dallas police officers stand guard at a road block to the crime scene at El Centro College on July 8, 2016, where a sniper attacked a Black Lives Matter protest Thursday night, killing 5 police officers and wounding 7 others.
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Investigators document the crime scene outside El Centro College where a sniper unleashed a barrage of bullets Thursday night in Dallas, Texas, killing 5 police officers and wounding 7 others, during a protest over recent police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, on July 8, 2016.
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Investigators comb through the crime scene outside El Centro College on July 8, 2016, following Thursday night’s deadly sniper attack in Dallas.
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A crime scene investigator looks a shot out windows after a shooting in downtown Dallas, Friday, July 8, 2016.
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Police tape is seen July 8, 2016, marking off the area where a shooting took place in downtown Dallas the night before.
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Crime scene investigators survey the area after a shooting in downtown Dallas, on July 8, 2016.
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Broken glass from windows shot out at a store litter the street downtown Dallas, on July 8, 2016.
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Glass shards are exposed on broken a window of El Centro College in downtown Dallas, on July 8, 2016.
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A clerk looks at broken windows shot out at a store in downtown Dallas, on July 8, 2016.
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Areas of downtown Dallas remain closed Friday, July 8, 2016.
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Dallas police officers face protesters July 8, 2016, at Ross Avenue and Griffin Street in downtown after 11 police officers were shot by snipers during a peaceful protest in the Texas city.
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A Dallas police vehicle that has a red stain beneath the door is hauled away from the Baylor University Medical Center emergency room July 8, 2016, in the Texas city.
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People stand near pollice barricades following the sniper shooting in Dallas on July 7, 2016.
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Police stand guard at a barricade following the sniper shooting of police officers in Dallas, Texas, on July 7, 2016.
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A Dallas police officer takes a moment as she guards an intersection early July 8, 2016, after snipers shot officers in the Texas city earlier in the night.
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President Obama pauses as he speaks on the shooting in Dallas, Texas, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland on July 8, 2016.
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Dallas police detain a driver after several police officers were shot in downtown Dallas, Thursday, July 7, 2016. Snipers apparently shot police officers during protests and some of the officers are dead, the city’s police chief said in a statement.
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An unidentified woman and a law enforcement officer reach for each other’s hand as they walk out of the Baylor University Medical Center emergency reception area, early Friday, July 8, 2016, in Dallas.
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Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, right, talks with unknown persons as he arrives at the emergency room at Baylor University Medical Center, Friday, July 8, 2016, in Dallas. Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas on Thursday night, killing some of the officers.
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Police check a car early Friday, July 8, 2016, in Dallas, Snipers opened fire on police officers in Dallas on Thursday night; some of the officers were killed, police said.
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Police and others gather at the emergency entrance to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, where several police officers were taken after shootings Thursday, July 7, 2016.
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Dallas police stop a driver in downtown Dallas, Thursday, July 7, 2016, following shootings of police officers. Snipers apparently shot police officers during protests and some of the officers are dead, the city’s police chief said in a statement.
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A Dallas policeman keeps watch on a street in downtown Dallas on July 7, 2016 after shots were fired.
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People protesting recent police shootings rally in downtown Dallas on July 7, 2016. Later in the evening, shots rang out and the crowd scattered to seek cover.
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People rally in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, July 7, 2016 to protest the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Black motorist Philando Castile, 32, a school cafeteria worker, was shot at close range by a Minnesota cop and seen bleeding to death in a graphic video shot by his girlfriend that went viral Thursday, the second fatal police shooting to rock America in as many days.
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A man lays on the ground after yelling “Don’t shoot me” at police during a rally in Dallas, Texas, on July 7, 2016, to protest the police-shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota.
(Laura Buckman / Getty-AFP) “The suspect said we will eventually find the IEDs,” Brown said, a reference to explosives. “He wanted to kill officers. And he expressed killing white people, killing white officers, he expressed anger for Black Lives Matter.”
“We saw no other option than to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension to detonate where the suspect was,” Brown said, adding that, “other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger.”
Brown said reports that the suspect shot himself were incorrect. “The suspect is deceased as a result of detonating the bomb,” he said.
Brown said he spoke overnight with the families of the dead officers killed as well as those who were injured, most of whom have been released from the hospital. He said three officers listed in critical condition are doing better, but that they and the department need the public’s support.
Of the dozen officers shot, 10 men and two women, eight are Dallas police and four are Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) officers, officials said.
“They know the city is grieving with them,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said.
Rawlings said that when he met with the wounded officers, he expressed support on behalf of the city and also made them a promise: “We’ll get the bad guys.”
One of the officers had surgery overnight and was doing well, Rawlings said. He said he spoke with another officer shot in the leg, and another shot in the arm. “The one shot in the leg – three officers from his squad had died, had gone down around him,” Rawlings said. “He felt sad for the other officers, that people don’t understand the danger of dealing with a protest. What it can do is put our officers in harm’s way.”
The shooting broke out late Thursday during what had been a peaceful protest against the recent shootings by police officers in a Minneapolis suburb and in Baton Rouge, La. About 800 people were marching through downtown flanked by about 100 police officers when the gunfire began.
Rev. Jeff Hood, 32, a Baptist minister based in Dallas, helped organize the protest the preceded the shooting as a way for people to gather and vent.
“It was a peaceful protest, no question about it. The entire thing was peaceful,” said Wood, who was marching alongside a police sergeant at one point.
They were marching in front of several hundred people when Hood heard rapid-fire gunshots: pah, pah, pah-pah-pah.
“Immediately I looked up and saw two police officers that had gone down,” he said. “I saw it. I mean, I saw people drop. I knew.”
Wood grabbed his own shirt, instinctively, “Because I thought I might have been shot.” He had not. He looked up again, and saw the police sergeant take off down the street toward the gunshots. Hood ran the opposite direction, shouting to the crowd, “Run, active shooter!”
Hood had a small cross and held it up above the crowd, he said, guiding them like a shepherd’s crook. Many of them kept asking him why the shooting happened. He wondered the same thing.
“The rest of the night I spent ministering people, trying to make some sense of what happened,” he said.
Officials identified one of the slain officers as Brent Thompson, 43, who had worked for the DART Police Department since 2009. He was the department’s first officer to be killed in the line of duty. Three other DART officers were injured but were expected to recover, officials said.
“As you can imagine, our hearts are broken,” the transit district said in a statement. “This is something that touches every part of our organization.”
The other officers who were killed were members of the Dallas Police Department, officials said.
Amanda Mann, a 35-year-old Dallas resident, said she drove downtown with friends shortly before 7 p.m. to catch the beginning of the protest in Belo Garden Park, which she had heard about through Facebook. For the first hour, it felt familiar, much like previous Black Lives Matter protests she’s been to, she said.
“Until 7:45 there were just some speakers, they were positive and proactive, then they said we were going to line up and march,” she said.
Mann said that around 8:30 or 8:45 p.m., as the rally was dying down and she was walking to her car near El Centro College, she heard the first barrage of shots, and then a group of protesters came running toward her, away from the gunfire. For about 40 minutes, she said, police shouted at protesters to move from one block to the next as officers tried to chase down suspects.
Mann said that at one point she lay down with a group on the grassy knoll of Dealey Plaza, a downtown park that is best known as the site of the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy. At another point, she said, she was near the county jail a few blocks away before running across the Commerce Street Bridge over the Trinity River, away from the scene.
“It was like nothing I had seen before,” Mann said. “We just kept following what the police told us to do.”
The Associated Press contributed