CRIME

The Latest on Dallas police HQ shooting: Suspect had history of violence, erratic statements

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Members of the media look at a police cruiser with bullet holes in the windshield after a gunman opened fire at Dallas Police headquarters Saturday, June 13, 2015, in Dallas. A man suspected of spraying the headquarters with gunfire and planting pipe bombs, early on Saturday, has been found dead in a van after a police sniper shot him, police Chief David Brown said. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins) (The Associated Press)

In this image from video, James Boulware speaks during an interview at his home in Carrollton, Texas, on Saturday, June 13, 2015. Boulware said he is the father of James Boulware, the name given to the police by the suspect who authorities say opened fire outside Dallas police headquarters from his parked van on Saturday. The gunman was the only person killed after the gunfire turned into a street battle and standoff. (AP Photo via AP Television) (The Associated Press)

11:45 a.m.

The suspected gunman in an attack on the Dallas police headquarters had a record of behaving violently and making erratic statements.

A police sniper fatally shot the gunman, who authorities preliminarily identified Saturday as James Lance Boulware. Boulware was accused two years ago of choking his mother and attacking someone who tried to pull him off of her.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Boulware was "talking rudely about religions, Jews and Christians" toward his mother, Jeannine Hammond, before suddenly attacking her.

Three cases were eventually dismissed.

Jeannine Hammond said in a statement to local media that "we lost him to mental health long before we lost him to death." Boulware's father, Jim, said Friday that he never thought his son would become violent despite a history of "making statements."