Today’s news has been dominated by the fallout from the shooting that took place in Dallas yesterday [Thursday, July 7] but there are still a few questions that remain.
While the identity of the shooter has been revealed as Micah Xavier Johnson, we do not know much else about this individual. He was an Army Reserve veteran who served in Afghanistan and lived in the Dallas area but beyond that, we do not know much about the 25-year-old’s life. The police have not released any information concerning what truly motivated the shooter’s behavior, besides what he said to police negotiators about being frustrated with the recent police violence towards Black men, and wanting to hurt white police officers. The police conducted a search through the shooter’s home today, but they have not released any of their findings from his home.
The police have also not commented any further about the three other suspects they had in custody last night. Media outlets have started to assume that Johnson was working alone, but the question remains about the involvement of those other individuals. No reports have been made about how this attack was planned or executed, and the best information we have at the moment comes from analysts on television speculating about the shooter’s operation.
The other question that has yet to be answered is how the shooter came to possess his gun. With the other mass shootings that have sadly taken place in the U.S. over the past few years, information usually comes out about how the shooter obtained their weapon, whether they had obtained a permit to carry a gun, and whether or not the shooter had been previously flagged or investigated by the FBI. None of this information has been made available so far concerning Johnson.
Information concerning this tragedy will certainly continue to be released throughout the weekend, and we will provide you with updates as they are made available.
Updated information via the NYTimes.
