MESQUITE, Texas — In the suburban Dallas neighborhood where Micah Xavier Johnson lived, the former Army reservist's link to a murderous ambush Thursday night that left five law enforcement officers dead during a peaceful protest against police violence was met with shock and disbelief.
"It's crazy," said Tahesha Cochran, 38. "All the people who live here are really nice."
Cochran was among a small group of residents wandering the comfortable community of two-story brick homes and tree-lined streets just 12 hours after the shooting, recalling that her son had knocked on the door of the suspected shooter's house a week ago to offer a flier for a lawn-mowing service.
Cochran's shock mirrored the apparent frustration expressed by authorities who said that a review of the gunman's background left no immediate signal that might betray his mission — as expressed to police negotiators shortly before his death — to "kill white people, especially white officers.''
The 25-year-old gunman, who also told officers that he was angered by the plight of the Black Lives Matter movement, had no criminal record and no apparent link to criminal groups, said a law enforcement official, who characterized Johnson as the lone gunman in the assault.
Johnson's military record also left an unremarkable trail, from his entry through the Army Reserve in 2009 to his exit in 2015 with an honorable discharge.
A private first class, Johnson served as a carpentry and masonry specialist.
He served with the 420th Engineer Brigade between 2009 and 2013, before an eight-month deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, where his service was acknowledged with the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Late Friday, however, the results of a search of Johnson's home began to offer a fuller profile of the man who investigators described as a "loner,'' according to an update of the inquiry posted on the police department's website.
Investigators recovered bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, an undisclosed number of rifles, ammunition and a "personal journal of combat tactics,'' Dallas police reported.
A Facebook account registered to Johnson, according to police, also included references to a "radical form of Afrocentrism'' and a book titled A Warriors Tapestry.
Before he perished in the early-morning standoff with police, Johnson continued to spout a stream of inexplicable anger, once warning negotiators that he had scattered explosives across the city with the intention of killing many more.
Not wanting to risk the lives of any more of his officers, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said he then ordered the deployment of a specially equipped robot to deliver the controlled explosive that ultimately killed Johnson.
Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook reporting from Washington; Johnson also reported from Washington
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