14 Jun 2015

Dallas police headquarters attacked

6:32 am on 14 June 2015

A gunman has opened fire on the police headquarters in the US city of Dallas, before fleeing the scene in what appeared to be an armoured vehicle.

Dallas shooting

Members of law enforcement gather outside the Dallas police department following the early morning shooting. Photo: AFP

A police chase led to a tense standoff in a car park for several hours, until police shot the suspect through the front windshield of the van.

Police say the suspect is dead, but have not confirmed the man's identity.

Earlier, two bombs detonated outside the Dallas police HQ in Texas, and two more bombs were found in the van.

The motive for the attack is not clear. No officers have been hurt.

Initially, police quoted witnesses as saying that as many as four suspects were involved in the initial shooting at about 00:30 (05:30GMT) on Saturday.

However, Dallas Police Chief David Brown subsequently said he believed only one gunman was involved.

He said that following the shooting, the suspect fled in the van, ramming a police car.

A police chase ended in a car park in Hutchins, about 14km from central Dallas.

The van, which has been disabled using a police rifle, appeared to have gun ports built into its sides.

Dallas Police close off streets around the police department following the early morning shooting.

Dallas Police close off streets around the police department following the early morning shooting. Photo: AFP

Police say the suspect is a white male, but his identity has not been confirmed.

Mr Brown said the suspect had given his name as James Boulware, and officers had attended three incidents of domestic violence involving a man with that name in the past.

"The suspect has told our negotiators that we took his child and we accused him of being a terrorist, and that he's going to blow us up. And then cut off negotiations," Mr Brown told a news conference.

At 05.07am, police snipers shot through the front windshield of the van, Mr Brown said.

Police then sent in a robot equipped with a camera to confirm that the suspect had died. Two pipe bombs were also found in the vehicle.

The area where the Explosive Ordinance Robot attempted to move one of the bags.

The area where the Explosive Ordinance Robot attempted to move one of the bags. Photo: AFP

-BBC