Police seemed to do their job professionally and with no collateral damage.
A suspect (James Boulware) who opened fire on the headquarters of Dallas police and rammed his armored van into a police cruiser was shot dead by a Swat team sniper, after he led police on a chase into the suburb of Hutchins, Texas.
Police and the suspect exchanged fire after officers cornered him in the suburb and snipers shot out his van’s engine. Police chief David Brown said the suspect eventually broke off intermittent negotiations after increasingly “agitated” and angry “rants” against police.
Bomb robots inspected the van and found two pipe bombs within. A package of pipe bombs and explosives blew up in police headquarters early Saturday morning when a bomb robot attempted to pick it up. Police also found a second explosive device, which they destroyed in a controlled detonation.
Shortly after 4 a.m., it was reported that the gunman had cut off negotiations with police. About 4:30 a.m., gunfire was heard again near the vehicle, and police soon confirmed that they had used a .50-caliber rifle to ensure the van was disabled.
The van had a Georgia license plate, and online records indicate that a company in Newnan, Ga., sold a similar vehicle on eBay for $8,250.
The company that sold it, Jenco Sales Inc., described the vehicle on Facebook: "Zombie Apocalypse Assault Vehicle and Troop Transport. This full armored zombie busting vehicle features convenient gun ports so no zombie juice touches you during a mass zombie take down. It also has benches in the back so you can take turns resting during long Zombie sieges. The tactical step boards are installed for when you only need swords and axes for drive by mow downs. The bumpers are made of reinforced steel tubing, so no dents from smashing zombie heads! It's full armor plated and has bullet proof windows just in case you run into other zombie hunting hordes who might try to take this bad boy from you. Like anything, there is a price attached to this fine piece of zombie fighting machinery."
Shooting Timeline
The suspect in the attack on Dallas police headquarters had a record of domestic violence and a history of custody issues, but authorities have found nothing in his past to indicate he would target police, Chief David Brown said Saturday.
Authorities said the gunman identified himself as James Boulware, but said they have not confirmed his identity.
Boulware's father, however, told CNN that police told him that James was killed during the standoff that followed the shooting.
Jim Boulware said he thought his son would have directed his anger not at police but at his mother, who was granted custody of James Boulware's son in April.
Jeannine Hammond said her son was "was obviously a very troubled young man."
The mother said in a written statement released by an attorney that she thought her son's legal loss factored into the attack. Hammond said her son showed during the trial that he was delusional.
The suspect also made threats against judges involved in his family violence cases, Brown said. He ranted during the attack that police had labeled him a terrorist, but Brown said, "right now we don't have any nexus to terrorism with this individual" and that he was not on any terrorism watch list.