Officials Piece Together Background of Dallas Sniper
A 25-year-old black man with no known criminal record and no known ties to any terrorist group has been identified as the sniper who ambushed Dallas police officers Thursday night.
Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas, was identified by officials as the suspect killed after a gun battle with police Thursday night.
ABC reported that Johnson served in the Army as a carpentry and masonry specialist until April 2015.
Wayne Bynoe, a neighbor of Johnson’s, told CNN that Johnson lived with his mother and “keeps to himself.”
The Los Angeles Times, citing a law enforcement official, reported Johnson “belonged to an informal gun club and took copious amounts of target practice.”
During the standoff between Johnson and police Thursday night, Johnson “expressed anger for Black Lives Matter,” Dallas Police Chief David Brown said.
“He said he was upset at white people,” Brown said. “He said he wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers.”
Brown said Johnson told police he acted on his own initiative.
“The suspect stated that he was not affiliated with any groups, and he stated that he did this alone,” Brown said.
The Daily Beast reported that on Facebook, Johnson liked pages relating to Elijah Mohammed, the founder of the Nation of Islam, as well as other militant and black separatist groups including the New Black Panther Party and the African American Defense League.
On Friday, Brown said Dallas police are still trying to determine whether Johnson had help.
“If there’s someone out there associated with this, we will find you,” Brown said. Media accounts have reported three people in custody related to the shootings.
Brown said that the decision to use a bomb affixed to a robot as a means to ending the standoff with Johnson came after negotiations had come to a standstill. The blast killed Johnson after he refused to surrender.
“We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension for it to detonate where the suspect was. Other options would have exposed our officers to great danger. He seemed lucid during negotiations,” Brown said. (For more from the author of “Officials Piece Together Background of Dallas Sniper” please click HERE)
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