Dallas Shooter Accused Of Sexual Harassment In Army
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - While downtown Dallas ambush shooter Micah Johnson had no criminal record, he did have a troubled past in the U.S. Army. Police on Friday morning also provided some details about who Johnson was and what could have motivated him to open fire on authorities Thursday night.
A military lawyer said that the 25-year-old man was accused of sexual harassment while he served in the Army Reserves. The allegations came up in 2014 when Johnson was serving in Afghanistan. A female soldier accused him of sexual harassment as they served together.
The military attorney who represented Johnson at the time explained that his client was sent back to the United States with a recommendation that he be removed from the Army Reserves with an "other than honorable discharge." The lawyer said that this is highly unusual.
Johnson was honorably discharged from the military in 2015, but that leaves questions given the harassment accusation.
Investigators are also looking into a journal of combat techniques that was found at Johnson's home in Mesquite, along with a number of bomb-making materials, rifles and ammunition.
City leaders said that Johnson was angry about recent police shootings -- most recently those in Louisiana and Minnesota this past week -- where black men were shot dead by white police officers. During a standoff with authorities at El Centro College in downtown Dallas, Johnson reportedly told negotiators that he wanted to "kill white people, especially white officers," Chief David Brown with the Dallas Police Department said.
"This was a mobile shooter with written manifestos on how to shoot and move, and he did that," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings added. "He did his damage, but we did damage to him as well."
"When I saw his face, I was like wow," stated Thomas Muhammad with the National Black United Front. "But not surprised, because the anger is heated out there."