One of the main suspects in the Dallas police shootings has reportedly been identified
Police have not formally identified Johnson, who is believed to have been the suspect who died after a long standoff with Dallas police. CBS has reported that Johnson, a Dallas resident, was not on any FBI watch lists. The Washington Post and other media outlets have also named Johnson as the suspect.
Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown said on Friday that two snipers staged the attack from "elevated positions" near the protests and that the department thought the attackers coordinated the ambush.
By Friday morning, the police had killed one suspect, believed to be Johnson, using a robot-controlled bomb after negotiations in a standoff in a Dallas parking garage. Brown said the suspect said he was "upset about Black Lives Matter" and that he "wanted to kill white people."
"We cornered one suspect and we tried to negotiate for several hours," Brown said in a press conference on Friday.
"Negotiations broke down and we had an exchange of gunfire with the suspect," he said. "We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on it for it to detonate where the suspect was. Other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger. The suspect is deceased, as a result of the detonating of the bomb."
Brown added: "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." Brown also corrected earlier reports that said the suspect had killed himself.
Brown said previously that the suspect had said "the end is coming" as he exchanged gunfire with the police and also said he would "hurt and kill" more police officers. Brown said the man also claimed to have placed bombs inside the El Centro College garage where the shootout took place. No bombs have been found, however.
Military experts have said the attackers appeared "tactically professional" and "focused." Three more suspects were taken into custody by the police, though Brown said in an earlier statement that the suspects in custody were not being very cooperative.
The standoff at the garage ended shortly before 3 a.m. CT on Friday.
The incident was part of the deadliest day for police officers since September 11, 2001, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.