Dallas police are in a standoff and attempting to negotiate with a gunman in an armored vehicle after a shootout outside their headquarters, the Dallas Morning Newsreports. No injuries have been confirmed, but the assailant, who identified himself as James Boulware, told police he’d been wounded.
According to the News, two explosive devices, which police described as pipe bombs, were found near Jack Evans Police Headquarters. One exploded when a bomb squad tried to use a robot to remove it.
The shootout began around 12:30 a.m. this morning. Boulware fired at police cruisers from gun ports in his armored van, wounding no one. The shootout began outside police headquarters and moved to the parking lot of a Jack in the Box restaurant after the Boulware fled, the New York Times reports. There, police disabled the vehicle.
“The suspect has told our negotiator that we took his child and that we accused him of being a terrorist and that he’s going to blow us up, and then cut off negotiations,” Dallas Police Chief David Brown told reporters. “We cannot confirm a motive at this time.”
From the News:
Authorities cautioned that they have not confirmed the man is who he says he is. But in 2013, police in Paris, Texas, said they arrested James Lance Boulware after he obtained firearms, ammunition and body armor before threatening to attack his family, as well as churches and schools.Police said then that he was taken into custody on two felony warrants from Dallas County. However, it appears the case against him was dismissed last year after he fulfilled requirements a judge had imposed.
Boulware appears to have been driving a armored van similar to this one, recently sold on Ebay: a modified Ford 3-door van listed by Jenco Sales Inc., a Georgia company, for $8,250.
Via the News, here is a description of the vehicle posted to Facebook (since deleted):
Zombie Apocalypse Assault Vehicle and Troop Transport. This full armored zombie busting vehicle features convenient gun ports so no zombie juice touches you during a mass zombie take down. It also has benches in the back so you can take turns resting during long Zombie sieges. The tactical step boards are installed for when you only need swords and axes for drive by mow downs. The bumpers are made of reinforced steel tubing, so no dents from smashing zombie heads! It’s full armor plated and has bullet proof windows just in case you run into other zombie hunting hordes who might try to take this bad boy from you. Like anything, there is a price attached to this fine piece of zombie fighting machinery.
Witnesses reported that as many as four people were involved in the shooting, including one person who did not make it back to the van and is still on the loose. Brown said police had not yet confirmed the number of assailants.
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