2016 shooting of Dallas police officers

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 killed six officers in Missouri.

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, each of which killed four police officers and the gunmen.

In 2015, a 35-year-old assailant attacked the Dallas Police Headquarters with a rifle before being shot dead by police.

On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and shot police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five, injuring nine others, and wounding two civilians.

Johnson, a 25-year-old Army Reserve Afghan War veteran, was angry over police shootings of black men.

He shot the officers at the end of a protest against the recent killings by police of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

Johnson fled to a building on the campus of El Centro College, where police killed him several hours later 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.

The New York Times likened this assault to the 2016 shooting, comparing their outcomes and the armament of the perpetrators.

Several officers were involved in both incidents.

A protest was organized in Dallas 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, according to Dallas Police Chief David Brown.

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.

Around 8:58 p.m. Johnson parked his SUV sideways on Lamar Street, in front of the east entrance to the college, at Building A, and left the vehicle hazard lights blinking.

At the time, the street had been cleared out in anticipation of the protest.

Taking cover at street level, he began shooting at groups of police and protesters who were gathered on Main Street.

Johnson was believed to have talked to three of the officers he shot before he first opened fire.

Three officers were killed in the initial gunfire, while at least three others and a civilian were injured.

Eleven officers fired back.

During the shooting, officers, unaware where the shots were coming from, scrambled to block intersections and were exposed to gunfire as a result.

Immediately afterwards, Johnson made his way north on Lamar Street, encountering Officer Brent Thompson along the way.

A civilian recorded video of the encounter from his hotel balcony on Lamar Street.

The video showed Johnson, clad in tactical clothing and armed with a rifle, loading his rifle and firing indiscriminately to draw officers near his position.

When Thompson approached a corner, Johnson engaged him in a gunfight, forcing Thompson to take cover behind a concrete pillar.

Johnson fired towards one side of the pillar, then ran over to the other side of the pillar to flank Thompson and shot him multiple times from behind, killing him.

Johnson, now injured during the firefight, attempted to enter the Lamar Street entrance of the college by shooting out the glass door but was unable to make his way in.

He wounded two campus police officers who were near the doorway inside the building.

Corporal Bryan Shaw was shot in the stomach underneath his bulletproof vest, while Officer John Abbott was hit by flying glass in the legs.

Johnson then made his way to Elm Street where he shot out another glass door and entered the college unseen; he then made his way to Building B. Hearing the shattering glass, one of the injured campus officers, Corporal Shaw, made his way through the building and discovered a trail of blood leading to a stairwell.

Accompanied by another police officer, Shaw entered the stairwell and was met with a hail of gunfire coming from above.

Unable to see Johnson, he held his fire and retreated with the other officer.

Afterwards, Johnson made his way along a mezzanine between the school's second-floor dining area and third-floor library, but came onto a dead end of windows facing down onto Elm Street.

He shot out multiple windows and fired repeatedly at officers on Elm Street.

He hit Michael Smith, a police officer standing in front of a 7-Eleven, killing him and shattering the store-front glass.

Officers began entering the college, sealing escape routes from the building, and evacuating students and teachers in the building, including those on a floor above Johnson, through a different stairwell.

Approaching Johnson on the second floor near the library, officers found him secured behind a corner firing intermittently.

He was in an area filled with offices and the school's computer servers, with only two doors leading to where he was positioned, and a hallway about 30 ft long separating him from SWAT members.