James Boulware

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.

News reports confirmed that Boulware was arrested in Paris, Texas, in 2013 after a report of family violence, and several firearms he owned were also confiscated.

Boulware's family members then reported to authorities that they were concerned that he might go on a shooting spree after he threatened to kill all the adult members of his family and to shoot up some churches and schools.

Boulware later made threats against a judge in his child custody case after he and the mother of his eleven-year-old son lost custody of their son to Boulware's mother, on the grounds that they were unfit for sole custody of the child.

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.

On 13 June 2015 at approximately 12:30 a.m., 35-year-old James Lance Boulware (October 26, 1979 – June 13, 2015) parked an armored van in front of DPD headquarters, which is located in the Cedars neighborhood.

There, he opened fire using what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle.

When police officers responded, Boulware rammed a Dallas Police patrol car and began shooting at officers from inside the van, striking the squad cars.

He then fled in the van to nearby Hutchins, Texas (10 mi south of Dallas), where he stopped in the parking lot of a Jack in the Box franchise.

He remained in the van as a standoff with police ensued.

Further gunfire was exchanged with the police while a perimeter was set up around the van, and a SWAT team was called in.

The driver identified himself to police as James Boulware, and claimed that the police had taken his son, accusing him of "being a terrorist".

He then cut off communication with officers after making increasingly agitated and angry rants against police.

The driver then threatened to blow the police up.

The standoff continued as SWAT officers used a .50-caliber rifle to disable the engine block of the armored van.

The standoff ended when a sniper fired additional rounds into the vehicle, killing the driver.

Police subsequently sent in robots that used water charges in an attempt to make entry into the vehicle, which succeeded in breaching the windshield.

Police were then able to verify that the suspect was the only person in the vehicle, and that he was dead.

Police robots also used water charges to disable two sets of pipe bombs found in the van.

Due to concerns that the van, which was identified as a purpose-built "Zombie Apocalypse Assault Vehicle and Troop Transport" with gun ports and armor-plated windows, was booby-trapped with explosives, police then destroyed the van in a controlled explosion.

No police officers or civilians were injured in the incident.

Four suspicious bags were found at the police headquarters, one of which contained pipe bombs.

Another bag exploded while being moved by a police bomb disposal robot, and a third bag found under a police vehicle was detonated by an explosive ordnance disposal team.

At 6:19 a.m., the headquarters building was confirmed clear of all explosives.

Dallas officers initially stated that up to four suspects were involved in the attack on their headquarters, but later said they believed only one person was involved and the reports of multiple suspects had resulted from him changing positions during the attack.

The only clearly identified suspect communicating with police gave his name as James Boulware.

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.

Approximately one year before the shooting, a different attack was perpetrated against the Dallas Police Department (DPD) which the The New York Times likened to the 2016 shooting, comparing their outcomes and the armament of the perpetrators.

Several officers were involved in both incidents.