The alleged Dallas gunman who was killed after a standoff with police has been identified as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson, two U.S. law-enforcement officials said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Johnson, a resident of the Dallas area, reportedly had no known criminal history or ties with any terror groups. The 25-year-old was killed after authorities detonated an explosive using a "bomb robot" after a breakdown in negotiations.
“We cornered one suspect and we tried to negotiate for several hours,” Dallas Police Chief David Brown said at a news conference. After the “negotiations broke down,” there ended up being “an exchange of gunfire with the suspect” before officers sent in the bomb robot, and Johnson was killed around 2:30 a.m.
Brown said that the gunman said he was upset "with white people" and the recent police shootings. The suspect also said he was not affiliated with any groups and acted alone.
“The suspect said we will eventually find the [improvised explosive devices],” Brown said. “He wanted to kill officers. And he expressed killing white people, killing white officers; he expressed anger for Black Lives Matter.”
“We saw no other option than to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension to detonate where the suspect was,” Brown said. "Other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger.”
When asked about Johnson's statements about his motivation, Brown said, “None of that makes sense. None of that is a reason to do harm to anyone.”
According to the Times, Brown acknowledged that there were other suspects in custody, but he did not say how many. Other reports have indicated that three suspects were in custody.
Authorities were still investigating on Friday and working "diligently to process the crime scene and find evidence," Brown added.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.