Over the past several years, the US government has been confounded with not only explaining, but properly responding to one of the clear and obvious consequences of the Fed's disastrous policy of the past 7 years, namely record wealth inequality and a tearing social fabric (recall Paul Tudor Jones prediction that it may all once again end in "war or revolution [8]") leading to rising social instability and a surge in public outbreaks of violence, frequently lethal. One need only note the flash riots in Baltimore and Ferguson to comprehend how fragile the US social fabric has become.
But while the government is still clueless how to explain this surge in social violence, something Zero Hedge readers have known for a long time is imminent (recall [9]"despite what should be a steadily improving economy and improving social and economic conditions, what readers founds most fascinating, and troubling, was the increasing preponderance of social disobedience, of covert, proxy or outright wars, and of civil unrest: all phenomena that accompany a world sliding deeper into distress, not as most central banks and their puppet media would have us believe, a global recovery."), where its response has been even more deplorable is how to respond to this increase in civil disobedience: by weaponizing the US police force to an extent [10]reminiscent of pre-civil war state leading to a police force which feels enabled and duly required to intervene well beyond the required in quelling and pre-empting imminent violence, leading to even more bloodshed much of it caught on phonecam and promptly uploaded on YouTube.
[11]
The result: in a game of rapidly escalating violence, public antagonism against the police is met with increasingly more acute brutality, which in turn forces even more social unrest and violence and so on in a positive feedback loop.
An example was shown yesterday when we reported that the murder rate in Baltimore skyrocketed [12]as a result of the local Police responding to the infamous Baltimore riots by essentially shutting down.
Another example happened hours ago when overnight as many as four gunmen fired automatic weapons against the Dallas Police headquarters, Reuters reports [13], and that at least at least two pipe bombs were found outside the police headquarters after the initial shooting.
Initially, witness said there might have been 4 suspects. @DPDChief [14] says we believe that one suspect shot from various locations.
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) June 13, 2015 [15]
At least one attacker opened fire on Dallas' police headquarters early Saturday, riddling windows and police cars with bullets before fleeing in a van to a suburban restaurant parking lot, where officers surrounded the vehicle in a standoff that has lasted for hours, CNN reports [16].
Subsequently Reuters reported that the assailant was believed to have acted alone, motivated by personal grievances, and he had no known connection to any terrorist groups.
Reuters adds that [13]Dallas Police Chief David Brown told reporters that a motive for the attack was not yet known, but he also said there had been threats and attacks on police elsewhere in the country in the past few months.
One of the devices, a pipe bomb, exploded when a police robot attempted to move it. Another, which was under a police vehicle, was detonated by a bomb squad, according to the police department.
Brown said witnesses reported that up to four suspects were involved in the incident, which began around 12:30 a.m.
The incident started when police responded to reports of automatic gunfire from what was described as an armoured van outside police headquarters.
The van then rammed a squad car and gunfire erupted. The van drove off as police returned fire and officers gave chase, Brown said. Witnesses told police that one suspect may have failed to enter the van before it sped off, according to Brown.
The van stopped in a fast food restaurant parking lot in the city of Hutchins, some 10 miles (16 km) south of Dallas, where there was another exchange of gunfire. Police said they surrounded the van and managed to disable it with a high-powered rifle.
Brown said police negotiators had spoken with someone inside the van, who identified himself as James Boulware, shown in the mugshot below as per CBS DFW [17].
[18]
Suspect Mug Shot from Dallas County Sheriff’s Office that matches name given to police – James Boulware
The police chief said they had not yet been able to confirm the identity of the man, but said that police had responded previously to three incidents of domestic violence involving a man with that name.
Brown told reporters at the early morning news conference that the suspect had said that police had taken his child and had accused him of being a terrorist. The police chief said that the man then threatened to "blow us up."
Several bags were found scattered around police headquarters, two of which had explosives inside, police said. Another suspicious package was found in a dumpster near a different police station in the city, according to police.
Nearby residents were evacuated, Brown said.
Various video of the shoot out were found on social media:
NEW VIDEO: Armored van with gun ports opens fire on #Dallas [19] police
pic.twitter.com/6e7C4OgbTy [20]
— Conflict News (@rConflictNews) June 13, 2015 [21]
This footage of the Dallas shootout scared the hell out of me:
pic.twitter.com/R6NbP0UibS [22]
— BrownBlaze (@brownblaze) June 13, 2015 [23]
Dallas shooting???? pic.twitter.com/UUq3AWsjZE [24]
— janin ruiz (@janinruiz1) June 13, 2015 [25]
Perhaps even more interesting is that the Dallas Police Department reported all updates as it got them on Twitter:
Shots were fired @DallasPD [26] headquarters this morning, 911 received first call 12:27 am
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) June 13, 2015 [27]
Suspects parked in front of HQ. Patrol elements arrived; suspects rammed a DPD squad car & began shooting @ officers, striking squad cars.
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) June 13, 2015 [28]
This is the first time DPD HQ has been under attack.
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) June 13, 2015 [29]
[30]
#breaking [31] As the Explosive Ordinance Robot attempted to move one of the bags @DallasPD [26] HQ, the bag exploded on its own #DallasPDShooting [32]
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) June 13, 2015 [33]
Device found under police vehicle at HQ has detonated - no injuries #DallasPDShooting [32]
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) June 13, 2015 [34]
Here are some pictures of the damage at HQ. pic.twitter.com/ic18axSTPO [35]
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) June 13, 2015 [36]
Picture of squad car that was shot at. No officers were injured. pic.twitter.com/vfT2nCiJzP [37]
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) June 13, 2015 [38]
This is where the Explosive Ordinance Robot attempted to move one of the bags. #DallasPDShooting [32] pic.twitter.com/mgbgytBhWv [39]
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) June 13, 2015 [40]
As CNN reports, after the police caught up with the suspect in Huchins, a standoff began, and a SWAT team was negotiating with a suspect in the vehicle who gave the name James Boulware. Police said that they cannot independently confirm that it is the suspect's real identity.
Police found a previous record of domestic violence by a man under that name. The suspect told police that he was angry because they took away his child and labeled him a terrorist.
He threatened to blow them up and broke off negotiations, Brown said.
At one point, police used a .50-caliber rifle to "disable" the vehicle, police said.
Investigators are looking into whether a van sold in Newnan, Georgia, on eBay last week may be the van used in the Dallas attack, a source familiar with the investigation said. They are investigating, among other things, who may have purchased the vehicle.
As the story develops, moments ago the Dallas Police Department announced that the standoff has likely ended after
0507 PD Sniper shot @ suspect through front windshield of van. Suspect may be hit.
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) June 13, 2015 [41]
#UPDATE [42]: Suspect in Dallas police standoff shot, presumed dead; no known links to terrorism http://t.co/kbZgMX59ej [43]
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) June 13, 2015 [44]
The good news is that according to DPD no police officers were wounded. However, that armed assailants are now eager to bring the fight literally to the doorstep of regional police headquarters is certainly not a welcome development for a nation that over the past year has seen an unprecedented surge in violence on both sides of the legal divide and is sure to escalate the tensions even futher, leading to even more social instability and violence.
Chopper 11 live feed from CBS FDW.com [45]
