Dallas Police: Bomb-making Materials Found in Gunman's Home
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings has confirmed that the killing of five police officers in the Texas city on Thursday was carried out by a lone gunman, identified as Micah Johnson.
During a search of Johnson's home on Friday, Dallas police detectives found bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition, and a personal journal of combat tactics, the police department said in a statement.
Rawlings said Friday at a news conference, "This was a mobile shooter who had written manifestos on how to shoot and move, and he did that." He added that now that the shooter is dead, "We believe now that the city is safe ... and we can move on to healing."
President Barack Obama, who is attending a NATO meeting in Poland, will return from his European trip on Sunday, a day earlier than planned, the White House said in a statement late Friday. He will travel to Dallas early next week.
“Later in the week, at the White House, the president will continue the work to bring people together to support our police officers and communities, and find common ground by discussing policy ideas for addressing the persistent racial disparities in our criminal justice system,” the White House said in a statement.
WATCH: Animation of how shooting unfolded
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said while the shooter is dead, law enforcement officers must now investigate and ensure that any co-conspirators or other suspects who may have helped him. He added, "We need to focus on the imperative of unity: that we unite all citizens of Dallas, all citizens of Texas."
The deadly ambush that killed five police officers Thursday night was a "well-planned" attack. The White House said the shooting is unrelated to domestic or international terrorism.
'Ambush'
The attack, which city officials labeled an "ambush," happened toward the end of a demonstration against the killing of two black men by white police officers in Minnesota and Louisiana earlier this week.
The gunman told officers he was "upset" about recent police shootings, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said.
The U.S. military has confirmed the gunman was a former Army Reservist who served in Afghanistan. Three other people, who have not been identified, were also detained in connection with the attack.
Cornered by police after the ambush, Johnson told a negotiator he wanted "to kill white people, especially white (police) officers," and said he was acting alone and was unaffiliated with any groups, Brown said during a news conference Friday.
Johnson was then killed by police in an intentional explosion after talks broke down. Police used a bomb robot to detonate an unspecified explosive device near him, the police chief said.
Later in the day, Brown said the investigation, however, has "revealed to us this was a well-planned, well-thought-out, evil tragedy."
"We won't rest until we bring everyone involved to justice," he added.
Seven other police officers and two civilians were wounded in the attack, the city's mayor said Friday morning. A lawyer for five of the wounded officers told the New York Times those officers were expected to recover.
The gunman told police they would eventually find bombs planted in the city; a suspicious package has been secured by the city's bomb squad near the site of the attack.
Details emerge
City officials originally said multiple "snipers" were involved in the attack, but details of how many people were part of the ambush remain unclear. The Dallas police chief said one of the detainees is a woman. The other two suspects being interviewed, Brown said, were seen with camouflage bags, prompting officers to follow their car.
Mayor Rawlings said up to 20 people in the crowd at the protest were wearing camouflage gear and body armor and carrying rifles, which are legal to carry in Texas.
"When the gunman started firing and people started running, we saw those people carrying guns start to run," Rawlings said. That led police to believe more people were involved in the attack.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, lower left, listens as Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, right, address the media during a news conference at city hall, in Dallas, July 8, 2016.
Video footage of the shootings shared on social media showed people fleeing the sound of semiautomatic gunfire. One recording showed a gunman shooting an officer.
Police had issued a photograph of an armed black man in camouflage dress who attended the demonstration as "a person of interest" in Thursday's shooting. The man later turned himself in to authorities, who determined he was not involved in the shootings.
Parts of downtown Dallas remained cordoned off Friday as law enforcement officials investigated the shooting, which marks the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Rawlings has asked people who work in the downtown area where the shootings occurred to stay away Friday.
WATCH: What led to attack on Dallas police
Obama called the shootings a "vicious, calculated and despicable attack" on officers who were performing their jobs. He ordered American flags be lowered to half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds for four days in honor of the dead and wounded.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the Department of Justice will provide any assistance needed in the Dallas investigation.
"Do not let this week precipitate a new normal in this country,"
she told reporters during a news conference Friday.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Friday also said the shooter had no known links to international terrorist organizations. He added, "Violence is never the answer. Violence directed at our police officers is never the answer."
About 1,000 people attended the Dallas rally to protest the shooting deaths of two men in Minnesota and Louisiana by police officers earlier this week. Both incidents, captured on video, led to demonstrations in many U.S. cities. The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the Louisiana case.
Police fatally shot Alton Sterling, 37, outside a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, convenience store on Tuesday; Philando Castile was killed at close range during a traffic stop in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday as his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter sat in the car with him.
WATCH: Raw video footage recorded during shooting
Louisiana, Minnesota shootings
Quinyetta McMillon, the mother of one of Sterling's children, issued a statement Friday denouncing the Dallas police killings.
"We wholeheartedly reject the reprehensible acts of violence that were perpetrated against members of the Dallas Police Department,'' the statement said. "Our hearts break for the families of the officers who were lost as they protected protesters and residents alike during a rally.''
The shooting deaths of Sterling and Castile are the latest incidents in a string of police shootings in the U.S. that are widely viewed as examples of police using excessive force against minorities.
The Washington Post, which last year
began tracking the number of people fatally shot by police, reports 509 deaths so far this year - an increase of 27 over the same period last year.
In response to the shooting deaths of Sterling and Castile, protesters rallied around the Black Lives Matter campaign across the country this week to counter what they see as disproportionate police violence against minorities.
Hundreds gather at the JJ Hill Montesorri School Thursday, July 7, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. for a vigil following the shooting death by police of Philando Castile.
Internationally, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the police killings in Dallas, saying “there is no justification for such violence.” He said through a spokesman that the killers “compounded the suffering that many in the United States feel following the killing of two African-American men over two days.”
Ban also called for a “thorough and impartial” investigation into the deaths of the black men and said the United States needs to “address discrimination, including racial disparities in law enforcement.”
Other international leaders expressed condolences for the Dallas police shootings including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Canadians are shocked by the cowardly attacks against police in Dallas. Our solidarity is with all victims of violence on this tragic week,” he wrote on Twitter.
European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted he was “deeply sorry” about the shootings. “We are with you in this as well as with families and loved ones of victims,” he wrote.
