Suspect likely killed after attack on Dallas police headquarters

DALLAS — A man suspected of attacking Dallas police headquarters early on Saturday, spraying it with gunfire and leaving explosive devices around the building, was shot and likely killed by snipers a few hours later, police said.

Authorities believe the attacker was acting alone, motivated by personal grievances and had no known connection to any terrorist groups, Dallas police chief David Brown said.

He said police snipers shot the suspect through the windshield of a van in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant about 16km south of the city.

No police were injured in the attack.

Hours after it occurred, police could be seen on live TV conducting a controlled explosion on the suspect's van. A robot had previously checked the vehicle for explosives.

"I believe we're blessed that our officers survived this ordeal," Brown said. "We literally dodged a bullet."

On their Twitter feed, police said the suspect was believed to have been killed.

"There has been no contact with the suspect in over 4 hours — believe it likely that he is deceased," police said.

"We've opened the windshield and will utilise an explosive 'water charge' to render any explosives inside inert," the police said in a separate posting on Twitter.

They said they would not go into the vehicle until they were sure there were no explosive devices rigged to it. Police said they found two pipe bombs inside.

The hours-long ordeal began soon after midnight when the suspect riddled Dallas police headquarters with bullets and left behind at least two devices in duffle bags that later exploded, police said.

The attack left windows shattered and bullet holes in building walls and squad cars.

The assailant then rammed a patrol car and led police on a high-speed chase. Later negotiations were sporadic dialogue and eventually petered out, prompting a move to disable the van by piercing its engine block with rifle fire.

The suspect had earlier threatened to kill officers, police said.

The suspect appeared to be a man who had blamed authorities for losing custody of his son, who is now in middle school, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Dallas resident Ben Sotheby, 56, watched from behind the barricades as police patrolled the area near headquarters.

"It wasn't real smart to shoot up the place where all the cops are at. You'll get yourself killed that way," he said.

As the incident unfolded, two devices exploded outside the police headquarters. The first was a pipe bomb that went off when a police robot attempted to move it. A second device, placed under a police vehicle, was detonated by a bomb squad.

Brown said the man police negotiators had spoken with inside the van had identified himself as James Boulware. A check of public records shows that Boulware has faced several criminal charges including assault on family members.