begin quote from:
| Wall Street Journal | - |
DALLAS—A
suspect in the police shootings—which left five officers dead and seven
more wounded—said he targeted white officers before he was killed by a
robot-delivered bomb sent by police, the city's police chief said
Friday.
Suspect in Dallas Police Shootings Targeted White Officers
Suspect was killed when officials detonated bomb delivered by robot
Dramatic video shows an exchange
of gunfire between a suspect and a law enforcement officer on a sidewalk
outside a building in downtown Dallas on Thursday night. Warning:
graphic content. Photo: Randy Biart/AP.
That suspect has been identified as Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, who lived in the Dallas area, according to a law-enforcement official. However, authorities have said they believe others were involved.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the suspect was killed after negotiations with him broke down and he began exchanging gunfire with police—but before that, he spoke to a negotiator.
“The suspect said he was upset about Black Lives Matter. He said he was upset about the recent police shootings. The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers,” Chief Brown said.
Two civilians were also wounded in the shootings.
The chief described the attack as an ambush where shooters targeted officers from elevated and secreted positions.
He added that authorities believe this suspect “did some of the shooting” but also said “we’re not going to be satisfied until every lead is exhausted.” He said the suspect said other things during negotiations that will help bring everyone associated with the shooting to justice, but he declined to elaborate.
DALLAS
Perimeter
closed
El Centro College
Dealey
Plaza
Approximate
location of shooting
1,000 feet
Source: Dallas Police (perimeter)
The suspect seemed lucid during several hours of negotiations after he was cornered at El Centro College, but negotiations eventually broke down, and he exchanged gunfire with police, Chief Brown said. “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,” the chief said. “Other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger.”
“The suspect is deceased as a result of detonating the bomb,” he said. The suspect said that police would eventually find improvised explosive devices, he said.
The chief also asked for support for the police, including those with Dallas Area Rapid Transit, who risk their lives to protect others. Authorities have confirmed that Brent Thompson, a 43-year-old transit officer with DART, was among those killed.
Police killed a suspect in the
Dallas police shootings with a robot and a bomb after cornering him.
Before he died, the suspect told a negotiator he was mad about the
recent police shootings of black men and upset with white people,
according to the Dallas police chief. Photo/Video: Fox
President Barack Obama condemned the attack, speaking at an international summit in Warsaw. “We are horrified over these events,” he said, vowing to hold anyone involved in the shootings accountable.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump joined a host of officials in denouncing the violence and appealing for calm. The presidential candidates also canceled their campaign rallies Friday.
Police and city officials said that large areas of downtown would be closed Friday as police continued their investigation.
Video footage captured the chaos in Dallas where several police officers were shot and least five have died.
The shootings are also reigniting a longstanding debate in cities throughout the U.S., regarding criticism of police departments over-militarizing their officers with body armor and tank-like vehicles.
“I think it is important for citizens to realize that we want to give everybody their freedom of speech,” the mayor said.
“But the (police) chief makes decisions that at times people can be critical of. ‘You escalated too much, you put too much body armor on,’” he added.
The result, he said, of not sufficiently protecting officers is being seen now, he said. “This is what you’re risking.”
The Dallas police department trained in de-escalation “far before cities across America did it,” he said. “This year we have the fewest police officer-related shootings than any large city in America.”
—Erin Ailworth contributed to this article.
Write to Dan Molinski at Dan.Molinski@wsj.com and Jon Kamp at jon.kamp@wsj.com 
