A bomb disposal robot inspects the area during a stand off with a gunman barricaded inside the van, June 13, 2015, in Hutchins, Texas. The gunman allegedly attacked Dallas Police Headquarters. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

The reprobate who killed five police officers and wounded seven others Thursday night at the conclusion of a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas has been identified.  He was from  Mesquite, Texas, had no criminal record or known terror ties, and had served in the U.S. Army Reserve. Johnson died during a standoff with police in a parking garage.

According to Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown, the cop killer told police negotiators that he was angry about recent police-involved shootings and the Black Lives Matter movement. He aldso claimed to be acting alone and not involved with any group:

The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.

Eventually, police sent a “bomb robot” armed with an explosive to the suspect’s location, then detonated the explosive, killing the suspect:

“We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension for it to detonate where the suspect was…other options would have exposed our officers to great danger,” said Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown. “The suspect is deceased as a result of detonating the bomb.”

Popular Science contributing editor Peter W. Singer tweets that similar tactics have been used before, although in a military situation, when a surveillance robot was used to kill an insurgent with an explosive device.