This undated photo shows Micah Johnson, who was a suspect in the sniper slayings of five law enforcement officers in Dallas Thursday night, July 7, 2016, during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings of black men.The Associated Press
The slain suspect in the Dallas attack that killed five police officers has been identified as area resident Micah Xavier Johnson, according to at least one Texas law enforcement official.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown has yet to publicly confirm the shooter's name. In a news conference Friday, Chief Brown said that before his death, the suspect told officers that he was upset about the recent killings of black people by police.
"The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers," Chief Brown said.
Mr. Johnson was killed after engaging in an overnight standoff with police in a downtown Dallas parking garage, mere blocks from where John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November, 1963. The standoff ended after police detonated a robot-delivered bomb when negotiations failed, about four hours after the attack began.
Mr. Johnson is believed to have been the only shooter involved in the ambush that broke up an otherwise peaceful Dallas demonstration, held to protest the recent fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. Three other people were taken into custody, including a woman who was near the scene of the Dallas shootings at the time.
Five officers died, while seven others were wounded, in the deadliest attack on U.S. law enforcement officials since 9/11. Two civilians were also taken to hospital with injuries after the attack.
Officials had originally said multiple snipers opened fire on police, but later said the gunman reported he was acting alone during negotiations in the standoff. Police have given no indication that the suspect was affiliated with any other group, and said the suspect had no criminal record. U.S. Homeland Security officials also confirmed that Mr. Johnson did not appear to have any links with international terrorist organizations, but said it was "unclear" whether he was a member of black nationalist groups.
The 25-year-old Mesquite, Tex., resident was a U.S. Army Reservist. The U.S. Army confirmed that Mr. Johnson served between March, 2009, and April, 2015, including one tour in Afghanistan.
He was a carpentry and masonry specialist deployed to Afghanistan between November, 2013, and July, 2014, and awarded several medals for his service, including the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
A Facebook profile associated with Mr. Johnson was taken down soon after news of his identity was reported by media. Facebook posts by family members, including one sister and his mother, show Mr. Johnson was the eldest of at least three siblings, and was believed to be living with his family at their suburban Dallas home.
Authorities were seen walking in and out of a two-storey brick home in Mesquite where Mr. Johnson's family is believed to reside. Agents in Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives vests on Friday carried several bags of materials from Mr. Johnson's home, which police reports said included bomb-making material, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics.
Although authorities say that people described Mr. Johnson as a loner, a friend of Mr. Johnson, Israel Cooper, told Associated Press his friend was educated and "wasn't really political."
Mr. Cooper says he played basketball with him dozens of times near Mr. Johnson's suburban Dallas house. He says the last time he saw Mr. Johnson was about a week ago. On hearing the news, Mr. Cooper says he couldn't believe Mr. Johnson was a suspect, as his friend wasn't "a violent or rough dude."
With reports from Associated Press and Reuters