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Amy Goodman

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Dallas Sniper was Army Veteran with Past Sexual Assault Allegation

HeadlineJul 11, 2016

The nationwide protests come as President Obama is cutting short his trip to Spain to fly back to the United States. Obama is expected to speak at a memorial service in Dallas Tuesday. This comes as new details have emerged about the shooting spree in Dallas, during which a sniper opened fire at the end of an anti-police brutality march on Thursday night. The sniper killed five police officers and wounded seven more. On Friday, Dallas police identified the gunman as 25-year-old African American Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas, which is just north of Dallas. Johnson was an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan in 2014. About six months into his tour, he was accused of sexually harassing a female soldier and was sent back to the U.S. by the Army. He also had a restraining order placed against him. Dallas police say Johnson told them during the standoff that he was acting alone, was not part of any group and wanted to kill white police officers. Authorities say they killed Johnson by detonating a bomb-equipped robot—which is sparking questions. This is suspected to be the first time police have killed a suspect using a bomb-equipped robot in the United States.

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