The man believed to have shot a dozen police officers and killing five last Thursday night in Dallas had designs on much larger and broader attacks, the city’s police chief said Sunday.
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Officials have identified the suspect as Micah Xavier Johnson, a 25-year-old Army veteran who served a tour in Afghanistan.
Releasing chilling new details of the attack by Micah Johnson, police chief David Brown said Johnson taunted police as he negotiated with them during an hours long standoff.
Brown believes that the police-involved shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn., may have led Johnson “to fast-track his plans”, and unleash terror on what had been a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas.
Some markings included the letters RB on a wall and in the stairwell where he died, after the police killed him using a bomb after talks failed.
Brown also said that Johnson kept a personal journal filled with “quite a bit of ramblings”, He did not elaborate on reports that Johnson’s journal included combat tactics. Thomas Castro says several general threats have been made against Dallas police, though nothing specific.
Johnson donned a protective vest and used a military-style semi-automatic rifle for the shootings, which marked the deadliest day for United States law enforcement since 9/11.
“We think he was probably planning something bigger based on what we found at [Johnson’s] house [in suburban Mesquite]”, the source said “He had a bunch of explosive materials. I began to feel it was a split second before he would charge us and take out many more before we could kill him”. “You tell me shots are fired, the adrenaline pump and rush for that.it’s hard to take a step”, he said. “Bravery is not a strong enough word to describe what they did that day”, Brown said of officers’ response to Thursday’s events. They say he “wanted to kill white people, especially white officers”.
Police are trying to decipher what the initials mean. Five officers were fatally struck and seven others were wounded.
Officer Abbott was also guarding the entrance, and was hurt in both legs from flying glass after it was struck by bullets.
Brown said he and his family received death threats nearly immediately after the Thursday night attack, which left five officers dead nine others injured.
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The Arlington Police Department has offered to work with the Secret Service to provide security during the president’s visit, Brown said.
