Updated at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday: Revised to include condition of paramedic.

A standoff with a gunman who killed his godfather and shot a neighbor before wounding a Dallas firefighter-paramedic who came to their rescue ended Monday when the shooter took his own life in an Old East Dallas home.

Derick Lamont Brown from an October 2016 mugshot.

Police and family members identified the gunman as Derick Lamont Brown and his godfather as 66-year-old Arthur Riggins.

Police said Brown, 36, was "acting erratically" when he shot Riggins in the back room of the house they shared in the 3200 block of Reynolds Avenue. Brown's girlfriend fled the home when the shooting started and was not injured.

The rampage continued as Brown, armed with a rifle, shot a neighbor and William An, a Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic who came to help.

Police arrived soon afterward, and Brown was wounded when they exchanged fire. He retreated back into his home and took his own life, police said Tuesday in a news conference at police headquarters.

Police said they were still trying to determine what the motive was in the shooting.

The FBI had been investigating Brown before the rampage. A special agent who spoke at Tuesday's news conference did not reveal the purpose of that investigation or say whether Dallas police were informed of it before the shooting.

Brown had a lengthy criminal history and was chairman of the New Black Panther Party in Dallas in the early 2000s.

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We are live at the Dallas Police headquarters with a press conference about yesterday's shooting in Old East Dallas, where a man fatally shot a man, shot a neighbor and then a Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic. Posted by The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Officers were first called to Brown's home about 11:30 a.m. They found a Dallas Fire-Rescue ambulance already at the scene and a firefighter-paramedic and another person bleeding in the street, interim Dallas police Chief David Pughes said.

As they approached, police were fired on and had to take cover, but not before wounding Brown with a shotgun blast. Three officers risked being shot to pull the wounded neighbor to safety, and he was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.

NEW: Sgt. Robert Watson tells me he wants to "focus on the injured paramedic, citizen and community. They need all of our thoughts/prayers." pic.twitter.com/98Dyj2CtQO — Hannah Everman (@HannahEverman) May 2, 2017

Meanwhile, Dallas police Sgt. Robert Watson and Officer Matthew Kalash ran to the critically wounded paramedic and pulled him into the backseat of a squad car. Watson drove him to Baylor University Medical Center, likely saving his life.

Another officer was wounded in the exchange of gunfire, possibly from bullet fragments. He was treated at the scene.

"All of these officers' actions are more than commendable," Dallas police Assistant Chief Randy Blankenbaker said at Tuesday's news conference. "They should be considered heroic."

An, the paramedic, underwent surgery and was in critical condition Monday afternoon. By Wednseday, he was awake, alert and communicating.

The resident who was also shot was in ICU, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said.

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SWAT was called in, and a police robot was sent into Brown's house where they believed he was hiding, he said.

Once inside, the robot found the bodies of Riggins and Brown, who apparently shot himself. Both died at the scene.

Monday morning, Riggins was supposed to attend a community meeting in the Dallas area. He never showed up, and wouldn't answer phone calls.

That's when his wife Isis Brantley, who was visiting her daughter in Oakland, realized something had happened to him.

"I knew it," Brantley told The News. "Derick has killed Baba. Nobody told me, but I knew it."

"He was an angry child," Brantley said of Brown. "I call him a child because he never grew up to be a man."

'Simple dispute'



An, a 10-year veteran of the department, was out of surgery Monday afternoon and transferred to the ICU.

William An is a 10-year veteran of Dallas Fire-Rescue.

He suffered significant blood loss, and went into cardiac arrest three times during surgery. At least one gunshot pierced an artery, and his leg was broken by a bullet. He may have to undergo additional surgeries but is recovering.

"By the grace of God, my husband is doing okay. We are greatly thankful for all the prayers sent our way," An's wife, Jayne, said in a written statement. "Please continue to pray for Will and keep him and our entire family in your prayers. Special thanks again to the first responders who risk their lives daily for others. God bless."

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans became emotional when talking about his colleague on Tuesday.

"The word brotherhood is sometimes thrown around and can be cliche at times or overused, but I think for the family, yesterday and even now, they're getting a true sense of what the word means," Evans said.

An has a 3-year-old son and is expecting a second child with his wife.

"At this juncture, as opposed to what it was yesterday, the outlook seems to be a lot more positive," Evans said.

UPDATE: Shot @DallasFireRes_q medic still critical.......please keep up the prayers and well wishes. Another update in 1 hr. — DALLAS FIRE-RESCUE (@DallasFireRes_q) May 1, 2017

Police were still sorting through the details of the shooting, and investigators remained at the scene early Tuesday. They planned to get statements from the officers and Dallas Fire-Rescue personnel involved in the shooting.

Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief David Coatney said the notes on the call sheet indicated "self inflicted," which may have caused some confusion over whether paramedics believed they were responding to a suicide, rather than an active-shooter situation.

"In this particular event ... it came in as a shooting incident and buried in the notes it originally said self-inflicted, so that's what they believed they were going into," he said.

Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics have access to body armor, though the wounded paramedic was not wearing any.

Coatney said the department is looking into whether to change the policy on whether the armor is carried in rescue vehicles.

1 / 6Two Dallas Police Officers comfort each other on the active shooting scene where a Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic has been shot on Dolphin Road in Dallas, Monday, May 1, 2017. (((Jae S. Lee / Staff Photographer)) 2 / 6Police respond to a shooting in Dallas on Monday, May 1, 2017. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer) 3 / 6Police respond to a shooting in Dallas on Monday, May 1, 2017. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer) 4 / 6Dallas Police walk a neighborhood a block away from a shooting in Dallas, Monday, May 1, 2017. Authorities said a Dallas paramedic has been shot while responding to a shooting call. (AP Photo/LM Otero)(LM Otero / AP) 5 / 6Dallas Police Officers work on the active shooting scene on Dolphin Road in Dallas, Monday, May 1, 2017. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News)(Jae S. Lee / Staff Photographer) 6 / 6An ATF agents stands while authorities react outside of the Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas emergency room after a Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic was transported there after being shot on Monday May 1, 2017. The firefighter paramedic was rushed to the hospital in the back of a police squad car. The firefighter was shot around 11:30 a.m. in the 3200 block of Reynolds Avenue, near Dolphin Road in Old East Dallas, along with a neighbor. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News)(Andy Jacobsohn / Staff Photographer)

Shooter's history

Family members could not explain Brown's actions before his death

"I don't know what happened," his sister, Dekisha Bryant, told KTVT-TV (Channel 11). "I wish it never would have happened and I'm sad for everybody."

Brown told The News in 2004 that he wanted to empower residents to stand up to the police and fight back as a last resort.

"We're willing to defend by any cause and every cause," Brown said in 2004. "If that takes fighting back, Lord have mercy for me on what should happen on the streets, but I'm willing."

But he also said he wanted to steer away from the militant stereotype of the Black Panthers.

When Brown's father learned of Monday's shooting, he hoped it would be someone else's house on the block.

"But it turned out it's not," he told Channel 11. "It's just breaking my heart to know."

Brown had a lengthy criminal history in Dallas County. He pleaded guilty to multiple counts of driving while intoxicated, as well as a firearms charge.

In October, Brown was pulled over after driving the wrong way down a street near downtown Dallas. He had bloodshot eyes and his breath smelled of alcohol, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

When officers attempted to handcuff him, he resisted. Eventually he was handcuffed but again resisted being put into the squad car, refusing to walk and leaning his 200-pound frame into officers. The officers had to drive the squad car to him, according to the affidavit.

He was charged with driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest. At the time of the arrest, he had a prior DWI conviction from 2010, and two other pending DWI cases from Dallas County in January and July of last year, the affidavit stated.

In December 2015, Brown crashed his car. An officer who responded to the accident smelled PCP and saw Brown standing outside the wrecked car holding a 9mm handgun in one hand and a loaded magazine in the other, the arrest warrant affidavit stated.

He pleaded guilty to unlawfully carrying a handgun and was sent to jail in November. It's unclear when he got out.

'Be safe and look out'

Anna Hill, president of the neighborhood association tweeted a description of the shooter and told everyone to "be safe and look out." The shooter was described as bald black male in a green shirt in jeans. He walks with a limp.

Those of you living in and around Dolphin Heights Owenwood and MillCity be safe and look out black male bald headed in dark clothing &trifle — Anna Hill (@DHNACOMMUNITY) May 1, 2017

A helicopter hovered above as police searched for the shooter. Early in the search, officers armed with rifles crouched behind police cars. The Dallas police gang unit, state police and members of the Dallas field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were also in the area.

The shooting occurred not far from the Dolphin Road Fire Training Academy, the city of Dallas said in a statement. Those there were sheltering in place.

Officers were reportedly going door to door searching for the shooter, who was said to be armed with a rifle, according to media reports.

People were being asked to stay in their homes. Several blocks in the area were still cordoned off at 3 p.m., leaving residents stranded for several hours. Officers in military uniforms were searching vehicles leaving the perimeters.

By 4:30 p.m., police said the threat to the neighborhood was over.

NEW VIDEO: East Dallas residents watching @DallasPD go door to door looking for active shooter who critically wounded firefighter. pic.twitter.com/1mK5udjxBN — Jason Whitely (@JasonWhitely) May 1, 2017

A woman who lives on the street where the gunman's body was found said she started getting calls around noon from her neighbors who said there had been a shooting. They told her to stay away, but she drove to the neighborhood anyway and waited on word from police.

"We just keep an eye on each other," she said.

April Garcia, another resident, returned after a day out with her mom and children to find cops blocking the street where she lives. "Another day in the hood," she said, before driving away with her family. "Another day in the hood."

Heavy Dallas police presence where Dallas Fire-Rescue firefighter was shot. Parts of this neighborhood in Old East Dallas are closed off. pic.twitter.com/f6zshkuGTH — Naheed Rajwani (@naheedrajwani) May 1, 2017

Police cars and fire trucks parked around the perimeter of the emergency department at Baylor where the injured paramedic had been taken.

Acting Dallas police Chief Pughes was at Baylor, and police and fire personnel gathered outside, standing in uniform outside of the ambulance entrance. Yellow caution tape blocked off the area.

Meanwhile, the police department's volunteer reserve officers were helping answer calls in the southeast and northeast patrol divisions because many of the officers from those divisions were occupied with the shooting response.

"Everybody in the rest of the city was still calling 911 and expecting the police to show up," said Dep. Chief Steve Brody, who oversees the reserves unit.

Interim Dallas Police Chief David Pughes, with his hand on his forehead, gathered with officers at Baylor University Medical Center. ((Andy Jacobsohn / Staff Photographer))

In Austin, Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas, asked for a moment of silence in the House to pray for the paramedic.

The 2017 Texas Peace Officers' Memorial Ceremony was being held Monday at the Capitol, honoring those killed in the line of duty in 2016.

In a tweet, Gov. Greg Abbott said, "Truly sad that while we were honoring slain police officers, a paramedic was shot while responding to a call in Dallas."

In an unrelated incident, one person was killed and at three others were injured at the University of Texas at Austin.

Abbott offered prayers to everyone affected by both events.

"As the investigations into these heinous crimes continue, I have offered all available state resources to both Dallas and the University of Texas to assist in any effort," he said in a prepared statement.

Staff writers Corbett Smith, Melissa Repko and Tom Steele contributed to this report.