Updated at 8pm
A GUNMAN OPENED fire on officers outside Dallas Police headquarters overnight before fleeing the scene being chased by police in an armoured van – ramming a police vehicle in the process.
The suspect, named as James Boulware, was later surrounded by armed officers at a location around 14km from the centre of the city.
He was shot by a police sniper, and hours later confirmed dead after police gained access to the vehicle.
Police had initially said conflicting witness accounts made it difficult to determine how many shooters were involved in the attack on their headquarters – but have since said they believe only one suspect was involved.
Chief David Brown said during a news conference that the shootout began about 12:30am local time when the suspect parked in front of the building and began firing.
Shots came from a number of different angles, witnesses said.
Shootout
The driver then lead police on a chase that ended at a car park in the nearby suburb of Hutchins, where additional gunfire was exchanged.
At 5:25 am, police said the suspect’s vehicle had been ‘disabled’ – and the man was later struck with a bullet fired by a police sniper.
Police then approached the vehicle to check whether the man was alive or not – attempting to gain access to the vehicle by shooting high-powered rifles at the windshield.
It was later confirmed at least two pipe bombs were found in the vehicle.
Bombs found
At a separate scene, outside the HQ, officers found a number of suspect packages.
Two devices were uncovered – one of which exploded when a bomb disposal robot tried to remove it.
The second device has since been cleared, officers confirmed.
[The above video shows the van careening into the police vehicle... From 30 sec]
At this morning’s conference, Brown said the suspect driving the van told officers that he blames police for losing custody of his son and “accusing him of being a terrorist.”
Remarkably, no-one else was killed or injured in the attack, which left the building and nearby vehicles strewn with bullet holes.
With reporting from Associated Press.
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