Chief: Gunman in Dallas attack had grievances against cops
DALLAS -- Just after midnight Saturday, a man opened fire with an automatic weapon from an armored van, shooting up the lobby of Dallas' police headquarters. Bullets pierced the building as officers scrambled for cover.
He sprayed a stream of bullets at the officers responding to the attack, then used the van to ram a patrol unit and sped away under a barrage of police gunfire.
Police later discovered the driver left four duffel bags around the building and under a police car. Two of the bags contained pipe bombs, which were later detonated by a robot.
The police chase went on for 14 minutes. The driver continued to fire from his open car door and also made an emotional, five-minute call to 911 operators, with an angry list of grievances against police.
"First of all, that we had -- that police had caused him to lose custody of his child," Dallas Police Chief David Brown said. "Secondly, that we accused him of being a terrorist, and he, as a result, was going to blow us up."
The pursuit ended behind a fast food restaurant in Hutchins, Texas. Officers used a .50-caliber gun to disable the van's engine. A sniper then shot and killed the man.
While police have not confirmed his identity, Jim Boulware said his 35-year-old son James was the shooter.
"I thought, Oh my God, what has he done?" Boulware told CBS News, saying he recognized the van as belonging to James.
"Every one of us has a breaking point. He finally reached his," Boulware said. "Took him three years, took them taking his son away from him. Took him where he had to sell everything he owned to make ends meet."
There were two loud booms as a bomb squad robot tried to set off explosives believed to be in the van. Police said they found two more bags with pipe bombs inside.
In one case, several bullets went through a squad car, right where two officers had been sitting.
Brown called it a blessing that no one else was hurt.