Dallas Police HQ Shooting Suspect Shot Dead After Standoff; Was Angered by Losing Son's Custody
A man allegedly enraged by losing the custody of his son opened fire outside Dallas police headquarters from his parked van and planted explosives outside the building, leading to a standoff early Saturday, police said. The suspect was shot dead by SWAT officers.
The body of the suspect, who had identified himself as James Boulware, blamed police for "accusing him of being a terrorist," which led to the loss of custody of his son. He is under a medical examination, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said at a news conference, according to The Associated Press.
The police department, which did not verify the identity of the suspect, felt the gunman posed enough of a threat to be killed. "We barely survived the intent of this suspect," Brown said.
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The shooter had told police negotiators that he had C-4 explosives in the van.
No one, except the suspect, was killed or hurt, police said.
"When the negotiation was on, he became increasingly angry and threatening, such that we were not only concerned with our officers there trying to contain the scene being shot by him at a moment's notice," but also people nearby, Brown said.
The suspect had also planted pipe bombs in a package outside police headquarters.
The package exploded as an Explosive Ordinance Robot was sent to pick it up. "Lots of shrapnel was included in the pipe bombs that exploded-- screws, nails," said a tweet by a police spokesman.
The suspect was carrying two more pipe bombs in the van, police later found.
"Some officers say we were lucky, I believe we're blessed that our officers survived this ordeal," Brown said.
After opening fire at police headquarters, the suspect called 911 and blamed police for making him lose custody of the child, Brown said.
The suspect was reportedly involved in a custody fight, and was arrested in May 2013 on charges of choking the child's mother, according to Fox News. He had also allegedly threatened the judge in the case.
The suspect's father, Dallas-area resident Jim Boulware, was quoted as saying he knew his son had acquired firearms but had no idea how he got the explosives.
The father told CNN that police and agents from the FBI and the ATF came to his house to inform him that his son had been killed. Boulware added he thought his son would have targeted his mother for an attack, and not police. The mother was granted custody of the son in April.
The suspect visited the home a few hours before the shooting, and authorities conducted a search in the house. More details are awaited.
