DALLAS — The sniper who killed five Dallas cops and wounded seven more was the sole shooter in a devastating ambush that made Thursday the deadliest day for a police force since 9/11, officials said.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings confirmed the identity of the shooter as Micah X. Johnson, 25, in a Friday evening press conference and said law enforcement officers had determined, after finding a trove of weapons and written combat manifestos in his home, that the shooter acted alone and that there were no more potential suspects on the loose.
“This was mobile shooter that had written manifestos on how to shoot and move, shoot and move, and he did that,” Rawlings said. “He did his damage, but we did damage to him as well.”
“We believe now that the city is safe,” the mayor said. “We can move on to healing.”
The White House announced late Friday that President Obama will cut short a European trip to visit Dallas early next week.
Johnson, who served six years in the Army Reserve, died early Friday when police deployed a robot to blow up an explosive device in the parking garage where officers had cornered him and engaged in hours of negotiations that ultimately failed.
Police earlier described the attack as “well-planned” and Friday evening revealed that law enforcement found rifles and tactical gear in a search of a home the sniper apparently shared with his mother in Mesquite, Texas, 20 miles outside of Dallas.
“During the search of the suspect’s home, detectives found bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a personal journal of combat tactics,” police said in a statement. “Detectives are in the process of analyzing the information contained in the journal.”
Earlier in the day, Dallas Police Chief David Brown described a chilling exchange between Johnson and officers attempting to negotiate his surrender.
“The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers,” Brown said. “The suspect said he was upset about Black Lives Matter. He said he was upset about the recent police shootings.”
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