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| Micah Johnson’s Journal Discussed Shooting Tactics, Dallas Official Says | Micah Johnson’s Journal Discussed Shooting Tactics, Dallas Official Says |
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| DALLAS — The gunman who killed five police officers here studied the “shoot and move” combat tactic that he apparently used, writing about it extensively in a journal that detectives are poring over, a senior local official said on Saturday. He is also said to have practiced military exercises in his backyard. | DALLAS — The gunman who killed five police officers here studied the “shoot and move” combat tactic that he apparently used, writing about it extensively in a journal that detectives are poring over, a senior local official said on Saturday. He is also said to have practiced military exercises in his backyard. |
| Investigators found the “fairly voluminous” journal in the home of Micah Johnson, the sniper who shot at officers on Thursday night in downtown Dallas, the official, Clay Jenkins, Dallas County’s chief executive, said in an interview. While the journal did not specifically lay out plans for that assault, he said, it showed how the gunman planned to adapt the combat tactic. | Investigators found the “fairly voluminous” journal in the home of Micah Johnson, the sniper who shot at officers on Thursday night in downtown Dallas, the official, Clay Jenkins, Dallas County’s chief executive, said in an interview. While the journal did not specifically lay out plans for that assault, he said, it showed how the gunman planned to adapt the combat tactic. |
| The journal described “what we call ‘shoot and move’ tactics — ways to fire on a target and then move quickly and get into position at another location to inflict more damage on targets without them being able to ascertain where the shots are coming from,” Mr. Jenkins said. | The journal described “what we call ‘shoot and move’ tactics — ways to fire on a target and then move quickly and get into position at another location to inflict more damage on targets without them being able to ascertain where the shots are coming from,” Mr. Jenkins said. |
| The tactic described reflects the approach Mr. Johnson used in Dallas, moving from one vantage point to another, leading the police to believe at first that there were multiple gunmen. “It’s talking not only about how to kill, but how to keep from being killed,” said Mr. Jenkins, who also said he had not read the journal, but that he had read and heard summaries. | The tactic described reflects the approach Mr. Johnson used in Dallas, moving from one vantage point to another, leading the police to believe at first that there were multiple gunmen. “It’s talking not only about how to kill, but how to keep from being killed,” said Mr. Jenkins, who also said he had not read the journal, but that he had read and heard summaries. |
| Neighbors have told investigators that Mr. Johnson, a 25-year-old Army Reserve veteran who served in Afghanistan, had an interest in weapons, and officials have said that a cache of arms, ammunition, bomb-making material and body armor were found in his home in Mesquite, a Dallas suburb. After the shooting, he was cornered by the police, who eventually killed him early Friday. | Neighbors have told investigators that Mr. Johnson, a 25-year-old Army Reserve veteran who served in Afghanistan, had an interest in weapons, and officials have said that a cache of arms, ammunition, bomb-making material and body armor were found in his home in Mesquite, a Dallas suburb. After the shooting, he was cornered by the police, who eventually killed him early Friday. |
| The journal “shows that he’s well prepared,” said Mr. Jenkins, who as the county judge is both the county’s top executive and its director of homeland security and emergency management. “He had an interest, according to his neighbors, in weaponry. He was doing military exercises, according to one neighbor witness, in his backyard for a couple weeks before this.” | The journal “shows that he’s well prepared,” said Mr. Jenkins, who as the county judge is both the county’s top executive and its director of homeland security and emergency management. “He had an interest, according to his neighbors, in weaponry. He was doing military exercises, according to one neighbor witness, in his backyard for a couple weeks before this.” |
| Mr. Johnson served in an engineering brigade, but he would have had combat training. During the attack, which left five officers dead and seven officers and two civilians wounded, he used a semiautomatic SKS rifle — an old Soviet design — and a high-capacity handgun. | Mr. Johnson served in an engineering brigade, but he would have had combat training. During the attack, which left five officers dead and seven officers and two civilians wounded, he used a semiautomatic SKS rifle — an old Soviet design — and a high-capacity handgun. |
| “It appeared that he was an excellent marksman and was calmly shooting, as opposed to someone who’s just holding a gun up and aiming it and pulling the trigger in the direction of where they think people are,” Mr. Jenkins said. | “It appeared that he was an excellent marksman and was calmly shooting, as opposed to someone who’s just holding a gun up and aiming it and pulling the trigger in the direction of where they think people are,” Mr. Jenkins said. |
| David O. Brown, the Dallas police chief, has said that during the standoff with the police, the gunman said he had set out to kill officers, particularly white ones. | David O. Brown, the Dallas police chief, has said that during the standoff with the police, the gunman said he had set out to kill officers, particularly white ones. |
| A large part of downtown Dallas remained closed on Saturday as investigators began a second day of piecing together the details of the attack, an investigation that has included more than 200 interviews. More than 20 square blocks remained cordoned off. | A large part of downtown Dallas remained closed on Saturday as investigators began a second day of piecing together the details of the attack, an investigation that has included more than 200 interviews. More than 20 square blocks remained cordoned off. |
| Two squad cars outside Police Headquarters have become memorials, covered in flowers, balloons, posters and handwritten notes. On Friday evening, as person after person slowly and quietly approached the cars to add their own tributes, a Dallas police sergeant wiped her eyes, and a handful of people gathered in a circle to pray. | Two squad cars outside Police Headquarters have become memorials, covered in flowers, balloons, posters and handwritten notes. On Friday evening, as person after person slowly and quietly approached the cars to add their own tributes, a Dallas police sergeant wiped her eyes, and a handful of people gathered in a circle to pray. |
| “I miss you already Brother, but you are home with the angels now,” said a note about Officer Brent Thompson. The authors wrote, “You were, are, and always will be our hero.” | “I miss you already Brother, but you are home with the angels now,” said a note about Officer Brent Thompson. The authors wrote, “You were, are, and always will be our hero.” |
| Officer Thompson, who worked for the regional transit system’s Police Department, is the only officer killed in the attack who has been publicly identified by the authorities. But law enforcement officials and family members said on Friday that Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael J. Smith and Patrick Zamarripa had also been killed. | Officer Thompson, who worked for the regional transit system’s Police Department, is the only officer killed in the attack who has been publicly identified by the authorities. But law enforcement officials and family members said on Friday that Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael J. Smith and Patrick Zamarripa had also been killed. |
| “We’re all human here, and I think that people feel each other’s pain,” Mayor Mike Rawlings told reporters on Saturday as he visited Police Headquarters. “And that’s what makes it great, that’s what makes you hopeful that we can do this, that we can move from senselessness, absurdity that’s like a Camus novel, to something that has redemption and hope in it. And that’s ultimately what we need to do.” | “We’re all human here, and I think that people feel each other’s pain,” Mayor Mike Rawlings told reporters on Saturday as he visited Police Headquarters. “And that’s what makes it great, that’s what makes you hopeful that we can do this, that we can move from senselessness, absurdity that’s like a Camus novel, to something that has redemption and hope in it. And that’s ultimately what we need to do.” |
| He stopped to speak with a woman kneeling by one police car and told her, “Pray hard, sister.” | He stopped to speak with a woman kneeling by one police car and told her, “Pray hard, sister.” |
| After the assault, which came amid a peaceful protest about police shootings, law enforcement officials had a protracted standoff with Mr. Johnson before killing him with a robot-delivered explosive device. | After the assault, which came amid a peaceful protest about police shootings, law enforcement officials had a protracted standoff with Mr. Johnson before killing him with a robot-delivered explosive device. |
| “He had a choice: to come out and we would not harm, or stay in and we would,” Mr. Rawlings said. “He picked the latter.” | “He had a choice: to come out and we would not harm, or stay in and we would,” Mr. Rawlings said. “He picked the latter.” |
| The investigation may be lengthy, and it is likely to disrupt daily life here in the coming days. In a memorandum to top Dallas officials, Eric D. Campbell, the assistant city manager, said that “portions of the crime scene locations in the downtown area will remain closed to the public until Wednesday.” | The investigation may be lengthy, and it is likely to disrupt daily life here in the coming days. In a memorandum to top Dallas officials, Eric D. Campbell, the assistant city manager, said that “portions of the crime scene locations in the downtown area will remain closed to the public until Wednesday.” |
| President Obama is cutting short a visit to Europe and will visit Dallas early in the week, the White House said. Mr. Obama, speaking on Friday in Warsaw, condemned what happened in Dallas as “a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement.” | President Obama is cutting short a visit to Europe and will visit Dallas early in the week, the White House said. Mr. Obama, speaking on Friday in Warsaw, condemned what happened in Dallas as “a vicious, calculated and despicable attack on law enforcement.” |
| The president on Saturday spoke by telephone with the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, and offered his condolences, according to a news release issued by the governor’s office. | |
| Others have denounced the attack, including organizers of Thursday’s protest and the Black Lives Matter Network. | |
| “This is a tragedy — both for those who have been impacted by yesterday’s attack and for our democracy,” the Black Lives Matter Network said in a statement. “There are some who would use these events to stifle a movement for change and quicken the demise of a vibrant discourse on the human rights of black Americans. We should reject all of this.” | “This is a tragedy — both for those who have been impacted by yesterday’s attack and for our democracy,” the Black Lives Matter Network said in a statement. “There are some who would use these events to stifle a movement for change and quicken the demise of a vibrant discourse on the human rights of black Americans. We should reject all of this.” |
| As Dallas grieved, and as the United States reeled from a week that brought two high-profile killings of black men by the police and then the deadly attack on the Dallas officers, discord continued. There were major protests late Friday. | As Dallas grieved, and as the United States reeled from a week that brought two high-profile killings of black men by the police and then the deadly attack on the Dallas officers, discord continued. There were major protests late Friday. |
| Demonstrators gathered in Louisiana and Minnesota, the states where Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were killed. In Baton Rouge, the protest over the killing of Mr. Sterling drew hundreds of people to Police Headquarters. In St. Paul, chalk art on the street called for “Justice 4 MN.” | Demonstrators gathered in Louisiana and Minnesota, the states where Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were killed. In Baton Rouge, the protest over the killing of Mr. Sterling drew hundreds of people to Police Headquarters. In St. Paul, chalk art on the street called for “Justice 4 MN.” |
| But the protests extended well beyond Baton Rouge and Minnesota, where Mr. Castile was shot in a suburb of St. Paul. | But the protests extended well beyond Baton Rouge and Minnesota, where Mr. Castile was shot in a suburb of St. Paul. |
| In Atlanta, thousands of demonstrators marched through the city’s downtown. Some protesters sought to block traffic, and Mayor Kasim Reed warned on Twitter that the authorities had “intelligence that some are encouraging violence.” | In Atlanta, thousands of demonstrators marched through the city’s downtown. Some protesters sought to block traffic, and Mayor Kasim Reed warned on Twitter that the authorities had “intelligence that some are encouraging violence.” |
| Although the march in Atlanta remained peaceful, local news organizations in Phoenix reported that the police there had used pepper spray and fired bean bags amid a tense protest. | Although the march in Atlanta remained peaceful, local news organizations in Phoenix reported that the police there had used pepper spray and fired bean bags amid a tense protest. |
| A large vigil and protest closed a main street in downtown Nashville. Protesters against police shootings marched to Police Headquarters in Baltimore. | A large vigil and protest closed a main street in downtown Nashville. Protesters against police shootings marched to Police Headquarters in Baltimore. |
| On Saturday, President Obama expressed optimism that the strife in the past week had not left the United States as racially divided as it was during the 1960s. | On Saturday, President Obama expressed optimism that the strife in the past week had not left the United States as racially divided as it was during the 1960s. |
| “There is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion about next steps,” Mr. Obama said. “But there is unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to operate. This is not who we want to be as Americans.” | “There is sorrow, there is anger, there is confusion about next steps,” Mr. Obama said. “But there is unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to operate. This is not who we want to be as Americans.” |