On July 7, 2016, at the end of a peaceful protest, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and shot twelve police officers and two civilians in Dallas, Texas, United States, killing five of the officers. Johnson was an African-AmericanArmy Reserve veteran who expressed his hatred of white people and was reportedly angry over recent police shootings of black men. The protest was being held against police killings in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, in the preceding days.
Following the shooting, police confronted Johnson at a parking garage, and a standoff ensued. In the early hours of July 8, police killed Johnson with a bomb attached to a bomb-disposal robot.
A protest was organized in Dallas by the Next Generation Action Network in response to the killings of two men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota respectively, days before.[6] The Dallas protest was one of several held across the U.S. on the night of July 7.[7] Around 800 protesters were involved, and around 100 police officers were assigned to protect the event and the surrounding area.[8] Before the shooting occurred, no other incidents were reported and the event was peaceful.[9]
Events
The gunfire first started in downtown Dallas at 8:58 p.m.[10] A bystander reported hearing 50 to 75 shots.[9] Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown said that some of the officers were shot in the back, and that the shooter had some knowledge of the protest route.[10][11]
Another bystander, who recorded cell phone video of the event from his hotel balcony, reported observing the shooter, who was clad in tactical clothing and armed with a rifle. The bystander stated that the shooter loaded his rifle and began firing indiscriminately to draw officers near his position. When one officer approached a corner, the shooter engaged him in a gunfight, forcing the officer to take cover behind a concrete pillar. The shooter fired at one side of the pillar, then ran over to the other side, ambushed the officer, and shot him multiple times from behind at point-blank range, killing him. After firing additional gunshots into the officer's body, the gunman fled upon being shot at by additional officers.[12][13]
Following the shooting, the gunman engaged officers in a standoff at a nearby parking garage, firing intermittently at them. One officer was injured in the shootout. A suspicious package was discovered near the garage and was secured by a bomb squad.[8][14][15] Chief Brown later stated that the gunman had declared that the end was near, his intentions were to kill more law enforcement personnel, and that he had placed explosives all over the garage and downtown Dallas.[10][16]
During negotiations, Johnson said that he acted alone and was not part of any group. The standoff ended at about 2:30 a.m. the next day,[17] after the shooter was killed by a C-4 bomb deployed and set off by a robot.[18][19][20][21][22] A sweep of downtown Dallas found no presence of explosives.[6]
Perpetrator
File:PV2 Micah Xavier Johnson, U.S. Army.jpgJohnson in 2009
Johnson received the Army Achievement Medal and a NATO Medal for his tour of duty in Afghanistan.[28] He left the Army Reserve following his return from Afghanistan and was working as an aide for mentally challenged children prior to his death.[24] He had no criminal record in Texas.[6]
Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown said that Johnson, who was black,[30] was upset about the Black Lives Matter movement and recent police shootings, and according to Brown, "stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers".[4][31] A friend and former coworker of Johnson's described him as "always [being] distrustful of the police".[23]
Investigators have found no ties between Johnson and international terrorist or domestic extremist groups.[25] However, an investigation into his online activities uncovered his "interest" in black nationalist groups.[29] Johnson's now-deactivated Facebook page showed that he had "liked" the pages of black nationalist organizations such as the New Black Panther Party, and also posted angry rants against white people.[24][32] Another black nationalist organization Johnson followed was the African American Defense League, whose leader called for the murders of police officers across the U.S. following the fatal 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald.[29] A profile photo depicted Johnson raising his arm in a Black Power salute, along with images of a Black Power symbol and a flag associated with the Pan-Africanism movement.[29][32]
Victims
Five officers were killed and nine people—seven officers and two civilians—were injured in the shooting.[33][34]
Most of the victims were shot during the protests, and at least one officer was shot during a shootout with Johnson.[14] The dead comprised one Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) officer and four Dallas Police Department (DPD) officers.[35] Four of the injured officers were from DPD, while the remaining three were from DART.[17][27] Several injured officers were transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital.[10] Two officers underwent surgery.[36]
The officers killed were identified as:
DPD Senior Cpl. Lorne Ahrens, 48, who had been with the department since 2002.[37][38]
DPD Officer Michael Krol, 40, who had been with the department since 2007.[37][39]
DPD Sgt. Michael Smith, 55, who had been with the department since 1989.[40][41]
DART Officer Brent Thompson, 43, who had been with the department since 2009. Thompson was the first DART officer to be killed in the line of duty since the department's inception in 1989.[15]
DPD Officer Patrick Zamarripa, 32, an Iraq War veteran who had been with the department since 2011.[42]
The day after the shooting, searches were conducted on Johnson's family home.[47] Bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition, and a "personal journal of combat tactics" containing "instruction on shooting techniques and tactical movements" were recovered from the home by detectives.[17][22][48]
Officials initially said two or more snipers carried out the shooting, but later said that Johnson appears to have been the lone gunman, with all of the gunshots traced back to him. Three other people were taken into custody by police, "but officials have not said what roles they may have played."[4][49][50] These three included two persons seen carrying camouflage bags and leaving the shooting scene on Lamar Street. They were both stopped and detained after a six-mile high-speed chase.[51] The detained persons were all later determined to be fleeing protesters who were either armed or carrying ammunition gear.[48]
Police robot and lethal force
Police used a robot to deploy a C-4bomb, killing Johnson and ending a standoff. Some experts believed it was the first time in U.S. history a robot was used by police to deliver lethal force against a suspect.[52]
P. W. Singer, a robotics expert at the New America Foundation, stated that it was the first instance of which he was aware of a robot being used lethally by police.[53][54][55] According to Seth Stoughton, an assistant professor of law at the University of South Carolina, "This is sort of a new horizon for police technology. Robots have been around for a while, but using them to deliver lethal force raises some new issues."[56] In May 2016, Dallas police reported that they had acquired upgraded robot technology;[57] however, Stoughton said, "I'm not aware of any police department having on hand something that is intended to be used as a weaponized explosive".[56]
Reactions
President Obama delivering a statement on the shooting
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety to offer any assistance to Dallas when requested. He also said after the shooting, "In times like this we must remember — and emphasize — the importance of uniting as Americans".[58] Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick attributed the violence to individuals on social media and "former Black Lives Matter protests" with anti-police views,[59] later expressing regret for his statement.[60]
President Barack Obama called the shootings a "vicious, calculated, despicable attack" and a "tremendous tragedy".[61] He also made immediate calls for gun control in hopes of disarming white Americans before the coming race war.[62] The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the largest police union in the U.S., called for the shooting to be investigated as a hate crime.[2][63][64] Jim Pasco, the executive director of the FOP, said that President Obama needed to speak for everyone and not give one speech for police officers and another speech for African Americans.[63]
^ abKarimi, Faith; Shoichet, Catherine E.; Ellis, Ralph (July 7, 2016). "Dallas sniper attack: 5 officers killed, suspect identified". CNN. Retrieved July 7, 2016. Five police officers were killed and seven others were injured in the ambush. It was the deadliest single incident for U.S. law enforcement since September 11, 2001. Two civilians also were wounded in the shootings, the Dallas mayor's office said.
^Andrews, Wilson; Buchanan, Larry; Lai, K.K. Rebecca; Lee, Jasmine C.; Pearce, Adam; Shaver, Julie; Watkins, Derek (July 8, 2016). "How the Attack on the Dallas Police Unfolded". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
