On July 7, 2016, a protest was organized in Dallas, Texas by the Next Generation Action Network in response to the killings of two men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota, respectively, days before. The Dallas protest was one of several held across the United States on the night of July 7. Around 800 protesters were involved, and around 100 police officers were assigned to monitor the event. About 20 to 30 open-carry gun rights activists joined the protest march, some wearing gas masks, bulletproof vests, and fatigues.
During the protest, 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson targeted and ambushed a group of police officers, shooting and killing five officers, and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded. Following the shooting, Johnson fled inside a building on the campus of El Centro College. Police followed him there, and a standoff ensued. In the early hours of July 8, police killed Johnson with a bomb attached to a remote-controlled bomb disposal robot. It was the first time U.S. law enforcement used a robot to kill a suspect.
Most of the events happened in the streets and buildings around El Centro College, which forms a city block composed of multiple buildings. The block is bordered by Main Street on the south where the protest march was taking place; Lamar Street (now Botham Jean Blvd.) to the east from where Johnson initiated the shooting spree; and Elm Street to the north where Johnson eventually entered the college.
The shooting was the deadliest incident for U.S. law enforcement since the September 11, 2001 attacks, surpassing two related March 2009 shootings in Oakland, California, and a November 2009 ambush shooting in Lakewood, Washington, which had each resulted in the death of four police officers and the shooting deaths of both suspects. It was the second-deadliest targeted attack of U.S. law enforcement officers in history; and the largest since the Young Brothers massacre of 1932 resulted in the deaths of six law enforcement officers in Missouri.
Micah Xavier Johnson was born in Magee, Mississippi and raised in Mesquite, Texas. He once described his childhood as "stressful" during a VA visit on August 15, 2014, but further details were redacted on the visit report. When he was four, his parents divorced.
Johnson transferred into John Horn High School when he was 17 and participated in its Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, according to the Mesquite Independent School District. He struggled academically, graduating in 2009 with a 1.98 grade-point average and a ranking of 430 out of 453 students in his class. He went to Afghanistan while in the Army Reserve.
He expressed anger about recent police shootings of black men and expressed a desire to harm White people, especially White officers. He had a history of being distrustful of the police and was affected by recent police shootings. Johnson had anger management problems, repeatedly watched videos of the Rodney King beating, and was upset about Black Lives Matter.
While investigators found no direct ties between Johnson and Black Lives Matter protesters, he had an interest in black nationalist groups, as seen in his online activities. Johnson had connections with the New Black Panther Party, Nation of Islam, and Black Riders Liberation Party. He also supported the African American Defense League, which advocated violence against police.
Despite his interest in black empowerment symbols on social media, people who knew him during military service claimed he showed little interest in racial injustice. Johnson's parents mentioned a shift in his behavior after military service, describing him as disillusioned and resentful of the U.S. government.
Before the shooting, Johnson worked at various jobs, including a Jimmy John's sandwich shop and a truck plant. He had no criminal record in Texas but had an encounter with the Mesquite Police Department in 2011. The Veterans Health Administration revealed symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, and hallucinations following his return from Afghanistan.
Johnson had been planning the shooting, with recent police killings triggering his actions. Johnson had offered to work security at an anti-Trump rally but insisted on bringing a gun, which was declined. He practiced military exercises in his backyard and received training at a self-defense school, accumulating weapons and materials for explosives.
