2016 Shooting of Dallas Police Officers

On the night of July 7, 2016, a demonstration of roughly 800 people gathered in downtown Dallas to protest the recent police killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. About 100 police officers monitored the march, alongside 20 to 30 open-carry gun rights activists. Around 8:58 p.m., Micah Xavier Johnson, a 25-year-old Army Reserve veteran of the Afghan War, parked an SUV on Lamar Street near El Centro College and began shooting at police and protesters on Main Street. Three officers were killed in the initial gunfire, and several others and a civilian were wounded. Johnson then moved north on Lamar Street and killed DART Officer Brent Thompson in a gunfight near a concrete pillar.

Wounded during the exchange, Johnson forced his way into a building at El Centro College, wounding two campus police officers, before making his way to a second-floor mezzanine area. There he shot out windows and killed DPD Sergeant Michael Smith, who was standing near a nearby 7-Eleven. Dallas SWAT officers cornered Johnson in a hallway near the library, and a standoff followed. Body camera footage released in 2021 shows negotiators, including Senior Corporal Larry Gordon, attempting for hours to talk Johnson into surrendering. Johnson said he was angry over police killings of Black men, referenced "black supremacy" and "black liberation," and claimed to have planted bombs throughout the city, though none were found. He also said he had acted alone.

After negotiations failed and tactical alternatives were ruled out as too risky given the building's construction, the SWAT team used a remote-controlled bomb disposal robot carrying about one pound of C-4 explosive to kill Johnson at approximately 2:30 a.m. on July 8, 2016 — the first known use of a robot to kill a suspect by U.S. law enforcement.

Five officers were killed: DPD Senior Corporal Lorne Ahrens, DPD Officer Michael Krol, DPD Sergeant Michael Smith, DART Officer Brent Thompson, and DPD Officer Patricio "Patrick" Zamarripa. Nine other officers and two civilians were injured. The attack was described as the deadliest incident for U.S. law enforcement since the September 11 attacks.

Investigators searched Johnson's family home, recovering bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, rifles, ammunition, and a personal journal. Officials investigated Johnson's online activity, finding he had engaged with Black nationalist groups and posted content related to Black nationalism and Pan-Africanism; the New Black Panther Party said he had been a member of its Houston chapter years earlier before being asked to leave. Police said they found no direct ties between Johnson and Black Lives Matter organizers and believed he acted alone, though they continued investigating whether others were involved. Three people detained near the scene were later determined to be fleeing protesters and were not charged. The U.S. Army launched an internal review into Johnson's military service and 2014 honorable discharge, which had followed a sexual harassment allegation and the discovery of an unauthorized grenade among his belongings. Family members of Officer Zamarripa and another Dallas officer separately filed civil lawsuits against Black Lives Matter and other individuals and organizations, alleging incitement; courts found aspects of at least one such lawsuit legally unsupportable.