Explosives found after gunmen open fire on Dallas police outside headquarters

DEVELOPING – Multiple suspects with automatic weapons opened fire on police officers outside Dallas Police headquarters early Saturday morning, before one man fled the scene in an armored van, leading police on a chase that ended in an ongoing standoff at a nearby parking lot where additional shots were fired.

Police have also discovered four suspicious bags, with at least one containing a pipe bomb. The bomb exploded when being handled by an Explosive Ordinance Robot. No one was injured in the explosion. Police later found two more suspicious packages, according to Dallas police. 

Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the shootout began about 12:30 a.m. local time when the suspects pulled up to the building and began firing. He said at least one of the suspects fled the scene in a van that rammed a police cruiser before leading police on the chase that ended at the parking lot. Brown says negotiations are ongoing with the suspect in the van. The has told police that he is injured, but authorities cannot confirm any injuries, Fox4News.com reported.

Police said conflicting witness accounts made it difficult to immediately determine how many shooters were involved and authorities were trying to determine a motive.

Brown said the suspect driving the van has told officers that he blames police for losing custody of his son and “accusing him of being a terrorist.” The gunman also said he had explosives in the van, which appeared to be outfitted with gun ports in the sides.

Brown says negotiations are going on with the suspect in the van. One of the suspects has told police that he is injured, but authorities cannot confirm any injuries, Fox4News.com reported.

Brown said, based on witness accounts, as many as four suspects may have been involved in the original shooting, including some who may have been positioned at elevated positions. Police couldn’t confirm how many shooters were involved and where any additional suspects may be located.

Police later found two more suspicious packages. One was found in a dumpster and another underneath a police truck in the parking lot.

He said police were evacuating nearby residents as a precaution. 

Ladarrick Alexander and his fiancée, Laquita Davis, were driving back toward the police station to their nearby apartment when they heard 15 to 20 gunshots in quick succession.

Seconds later, police could be seen swarming an unmarked van that appeared to have crashed into a police car, they said.

They turned around and were parked outside the police perimeter about two blocks away, where they heard the sound of one detonation at about 4:30 am and smoke coming up in the air.

Police headquarters is in a former warehouse district where a boutique hotel and several new apartment buildings have been opened.

"We don't see too much going around here at all," Alexander said.

-FOXNEWS