The sniper who shot 12 police officers in the US city of Dallas, killing five and injuring many, during a protest decrying police killings of black men this week, has been identified as a former Army reservist equipped for war.
Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, was wearing body armour and totting an SKS semi-automatic assault rifle and a handgun when he started picking off cops in downtown Dallas on Thursday night during a “Black lives Matter” protest, law enforcement sources said.
Police on Friday found bomb-making material, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition and a journal detailing combat tactics during a search at the home of Johnson, who told negotiators during the “ambush” that he “wanted to kill white people” as he went on a shooting rampage killing five cops.
In a statement on Friday afternoon, Dallas police confirmed the identity of the gunman and said he was described as a “loner” by some who knew him. Detectives were in the process of analysing the information in the journal, the statement said.