Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings, left, and Dallas police chief David Brown talk with the media during a news conference. | AP Dallas police: Suspect 'wanted to kill officers,' 'white people' Besides the suspected gunman who was killed, three other suspects are in custody.

A gunman killed by law enforcement after the fatal shooting of five police officers in Dallas told negotiators that he was upset about recent police shootings of black men and was "upset at white people," the city's police chief said Friday.

"The suspect said he was upset about Black Lives Matter. He said he was upset about the recent police shootings. The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers," Dallas Police Chief David Brown said during a news briefing.


Multiple news outlets reported Friday that the gunman killed by police was Micah Johnson, a resident of nearby Mesquite, Texas. The Pentagon confirmed to POLITICO that Johnson was a former private, first class in the Army Reserve. He was deployed to Afghanistan from November 2013 to July 2014 and left the military in April 2015.

Brown said the gunman was killed after police sent in a bomb robot and detonated it in the area where he was located.

"The suspect stated he will eventually — that we will eventually find the IEDs. The suspect stated he wasn’t affiliated with any groups, and he stated that he did this alone," Brown said. "The suspect said other things that are part of this investigation so that we can make sure that everyone associated with this tragic event is brought to justice."

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings during the same briefing declined to offer any further details on the other suspects that have been interviewed, as Brown reiterated that officials need to "get further into this investigation and get closer to a conclusion of what and who are all involved.

"He wanted to kill officers, and he expressed killing white people. He expressed killing white officers. He expressed anger for Black Lives Matter," Brown concluded. "None of that makes sense. None of that is a reason, legitimate reason to do harm to anyone. So the rest of it would be speculating. We just know what he said. That is what he said to our negotiators."

At an interfaith prayer service later in the day, Brown offered an update that interviews with suspects in custody revealed that Thursday night's shooting was carried out with a "a well-planned, well-thought out, evil strategy." He received a long ovation from the gathered crowd and appeared to wipe away tears before thanking the Dallas community for its outpouring of support for the city's law enforcement.

"In the police profession we're very comfortable with not hearing thank you. From citizens especially who need us the most. We're used to it," he said. "So today feels like a different day than the days before this tragedy. Because you're here. Because Dallas is a city that loves."

The country is once again reeling after shots rang out in downtown Dallas on Thursday night, killing five officers, injuring seven more and wounding two civilians during peaceful protests over the recent police killings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.

President Barack Obama on Friday sharply condemned the shootings of Dallas police officers the previous night as a "vicious, calculated and despicable attack," saying there is no possible justification for violence against law enforcement.

Speaking from Warsaw, Poland, where he is attending a NATO meeting, Obama said he had spoken with Rawlings.

"As I have told Mayor Rawlings, I believe that I speak for every single American when I say that we are horrified over these events and we stand united with the people, and the police department in Dallas," Obama said.

The president also issued a proclamation Friday afternoon, ordering American flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House, as well as at all government buildings and military installations.

In a statement delivered Friday afternoon, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Attorney's Office were all on the scene in Dallas offering assistance into the shooting investigation. She encouraged protesters not to be dissuaded from action by Thursday night's violence and said she shared in the grief felt by "our brothers and sisters who wear the badge."

Lynch also called on all Americans to turn away from violence even amid "a week of profound grief and heart breaking loss."

"To all Americans: I ask you, I implore you, do not let this week precipitate a new normal in this country," she said. "I ask you to turn to each other. Not against each other as we move forward.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton postponed a planned campaign event in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with Vice President Joe Biden scheduled for Friday afternoon. A private fundraising event, also scheduled for Friday afternoon with Biden, was also postponed. She is still expected to speak at the African Methodist Episcopal church national conference in Philadelphia.

The Dallas shootings also prompted presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump to cancel a campaign trip to Miami scheduled for Friday.

In his earlier statement to reporters with Brown, Rawlings called it a "heartbreaking morning."

"To say that our police officers put their life on the line every day is no hyperbole, ladies and gentlemen," Rawlings said. "It's a reality. We as the city, we as a country, must come together, lock arms, and heal the wounds that we all feel from time to time. Words matter. Leadership matters at this time."

Besides the gunman who died following a three-hour shootout with SWAT officers early Friday morning, three other suspects were in custody, the police chief said before the standoff had concluded. "We still don't have a complete comfort level that we have all the suspects," Brown said earlier.

Rawlings told NBC's "Today" later Friday morning that the three people being interviewed were not currently cooperating with police. "They're not at this point. They're subjects that we're just interviewing. They're being pretty tight-lipped at this point," he said. Rawlings then told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that terrorism could not be ruled out as a motive, remarking that everything is being investigated.

Noting that police have said there are multiple suspects, Obama remarked, "We will learn more, undoubtedly about their twisted motivations."

"Let's be clear there are no possible justifications for these attacks or any violence towards law enforcement," Obama continued. "The FBI is already in touch with Dallas police and anyone involved in the senseless murders will be held fully accountable and justice will be done."

Obama, who hours earlier had spoken about the need for the United States to be concerned about racial disparities in the criminal justice system, noted that he had also said that police "have an extraordinarily difficult job and a vast majority of them do their job in outstanding fashion."

"I also indicated the degree to which we need to be supportive of those officers who do their job each and every day protecting us and protecting our communities," he added. "Today is a wrenching reminder of the sacrifices they make for us. We also know that when people are armed with powerful weapons, unfortunately it makes it more deadly and more tragic, and in the days ahead we are going to have to consider those realities as well. In the meantime, today, our focus is on the victims and their families. They are heartbroken. The entire city of Dallas is grieving. Police across America, this is a tight-knit family, feels this loss to their core. And we are grieving with them, I would ask all Americans to say a prayer for these officers and their families, keep them in their thoughts, and as a nation let's remember to express our profound gratitude to our men and women in blue, not just today but every day."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton offered condolences to the officers affected by the shooting and vowed to stand with them.

"I want them to know that we care about them, support them and appreciate what they do for us," Paxton told "Fox & Friends." "And that despite this violence against them, in a situation they were protecting people that were protesting against them, that we are supporting them and that we will stand with them."

Later Friday morning, in an appearance on MSNBC, Paxton reflected on the "surreal" experience of seeing downtown Dallas become a massive crime scene. The Texas attorney general, who said he once kept an office near where the shootings took place, urged the public to be more supportive of law enforcement amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the shooting deaths this week of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota by police officers.

"What I tell people to do positively: Pray for the families of the lost officers, and then encourage law enforcement as they go on," he said. "Because they acknowledge that they don't feel encouraged. They feel like they're risking their lives and they aren't encouraged. So I say encourage law enforcement. And then get involved in your community and make a difference."

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), whose 32nd district encompasses parts of northeast Dallas, said "it's obvious that I think for every action there could be an opposite and equal reaction."

"What happened maybe somewhere else in the country found itself in its place, even in peace and a peaceful opportunity in Dallas," he told MSNBC's "Morning Joe," going on to say that the massacre "is not something that Dallas can accept."

Sessions continued, "The law enforcement community is very strong in Dallas, Texas. I will stand with them and I will say we will not tolerate this. But it is up to all of us to speak to our children and others about making sure we avoid what could become next and next in this country. We've got to solve it."