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A sniper shot a suspect cornered in his armored-type vehicle used in an attack on Dallas police headquarters early Saturday morning.
The police sniper shot the man following a standoff of several hours in a fast-food restaurant parking lot in the suburb of Hutchins, where he had fled in the vehicle which was outfitted with gunports on the side after the early-morning shootout outside of police headquarters near downtown Dallas, Chief David Brown said at a news conference.
Police still are trying to determine if the suspect died in the gunfire or if his vehicle was rigged to explode.
The Dallas Morning News reported the van had a Georgia license plate and online records indicate that Jenco Sales Inc. of Newnan sold a similar vehicle on eBay for $8,250.
According to The Morning News this is how the company described the vehicle on Facebook:
“Zombie Apocalypse Assault Vehicle and Troop Transport. This full armored zombie busting vehicle features convenient gun ports so no zombie juice touches you during a mass zombie take down. It also has benches in the back so you can take turns resting during long Zombie sieges. The tactical step boards are installed for when you only need swords and axes for drive by mow downs. The bumpers are made of reinforced steel tubing, so no dents from smashing zombie heads! It’s full armor plated and has bullet proof windows just in case you run into other zombie hunting hordes who might try to take this bad boy from you. Like anything, there is a price attached to this fine piece of zombie fighting machinery.”
There was no posting of the vehicle on the company’s page by late morning Saturday. Attempts to reach the company were unsuccessful Saturday morning.
Newnan police said none of the investigating agencies have reached out to them yet.
“We’ve not been contacted by anybody local or out of state for assistance in this because it’s ongoing and unfolding as we speak,” said Lt. Mark Cooper. “Those kind of contacts typically would be made by an investigator a day or more after the incident.”
Cooper also said that legal, private sales of vehicles are not tracked by the police department outside of an investigation.
According to The Associated Press investigators found a package containing pipe bombs near the headquarters building and the suspect told police negotiators that he had “C4” explosives in the van, Brown said. The chief said police were using a camera-equipped robot to inspect the van and to try to determine if the suspect was alive or dead.
Brown said investigators believe the man acted alone, even though early witness reports suggested there could have been as many as four attackers. Brown said the suspect apparently moved quickly during the attack, which may have given the impression that others were involved.
Cellphone video shot from a balcony or roof near the headquarters building showed the suspect’s dark-colored van ram a squad car as gunshots ring out. Brown said shots struck several squad cars, but nobody except for the suspect was shot or injured during the hours-long confrontation.
In an earlier news conference, Brown said the suspect had identified himself as James Boulware and told police that he blamed them for losing custody of his son and “accusing him of being a terrorist.”
After announcing police had shot the suspect, Brown said investigators were still trying to confirm his identity, pointing out that the suspect could have been lying about his name earlier.
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