Dallas gunman Micah Johnson 'had wider plans'

The gunman who killed five police officers during a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas last week had planned a wider series of attacks, according to the city's police chief, David Brown.

Micah Johnson is believed to have been acting alone when he opened fire on police, but a search of his home uncovered bomb-making materials and a journal containing details of his work with explosives.

"We're convinced that this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous," Brown told CNN. He said that Johnson wanted to "make us pay" for what he saw as police efforts to "punish people of colour".

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Police say the materials found in his home suggest his plans would have had "devastating effects" throughout Dallas and the north Texas area.

According to CBS News, Johnson had "practised military-style drills in his yard and trained at a private self-defence school that teaches special tactics, including 'shooting on the move,' a manoeuvre in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again".

Brown also revealed details of the negotiation and eventual death of Johnson in a car park in central Dallas, saying that the attacker had "taunted police" for two hours. During the stand-off, he scrawled several messages on walls using his own blood.

Earlier, Dallas police defended their use of a "tactical robot" to kill Johnson after talks failed.

"The robot had been fitted with a 'claw and arm extension' and was carrying approximately one pound of C4 plastic plus a detonating cord," The Guardian reports.

Brown said: "We had no choice in my mind but to use all tools necessary. Without our actions he would have hurt more officers. I approved it and would do it again if presented with the same circumstances."

Dallas shooting: Gunman 'wanted to kill white officers'

08 July

The city of Dallas is reeling from a fatal attack on police officers during a demonstration against the shootings of black men by police.

Five officers were killed and seven more seriously injured when snipers opened fire from a rooftop. Two civilians were also taken to hospital.

A suspect, who was killed after a long standoff with police in a multi-storey car park, is said to have told police he was working alone. However, three other people were previously arrested and remain in custody.

He also claimed a series of bombs had been planted across the city, but police say they have found no evidence of explosive devices.

Police chief David Brown told reporters that the suspect was upset about the recent police shootings in Louisiana and Montana and deliberately targeted white police officers. "The suspect stated that he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers," said Brown.

"There are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city. We're hurting. Our profession is hurting. Dallas officers are hurting. We are heartbroken. This divisiveness must stop."

President Barack Obama said the entire nation was horrified after such a "vicious, calculated and despicable attack" on law enforcement.

"There is no possible justification for these kinds of attacks or any violence against law enforcement," Obama said, before making yet another call for tighter gun restrictions.

Speaking earlier, the police chief said the alleged shooters had been "working together with rifles, triangulating from elevated positions" and planned to injure and kill as many law enforcement officers as they could.

Two civilians were shot, including one woman who was trying to protect her children from the gunfire, but her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening, the Associated Press reports.

"Everyone was screaming, people were running. I saw at least probably 30 shots go off," witness Carlos Harris told Dallas Morning News. "The shooters were strategic. It was tap tap pause. Tap tap pause."

The shootings took place in the city centre, where several hundred people had gathered to peacefully protest against the killing of two black men by white police officers in separate incidents earlier this week.

Last night's offensive marks the deadliest attack on law enforcement since 9/11 and threatens "to inject yet more tension" into the already divisive debate over race and police, says The Guardian.

An editorial in the Dallas Morning News pleaded for calm and unity in the wake of the attack.

"It was a night of horror unlike any in recent memory in this city," the newspaper said. "Now we must wake up and unite. If we lead with anger, nobody wins."