Active shooter killed outside Dallas federal building
DALLAS - A man who fired shots at the Earle Cabell Federal Building in Downtown Dallas is dead.
FBI officials said officers from the Federal Protective Service shot and killed 22-year-old Brian Isaack Clyde after he opened fire on the federal building on Commerce Street.
Witnesses who saw the shooting around 8:40 a.m. Monday described seeing a man dressed in what appeared to be tactical gear firing a rifle just outside the building.
Officials said at an afternoon press conference that Clyde had been discharged from the Army in 2017. He was not on any watch list and wasn't being monitored by federal agencies prior to Monday's incident. It's believed he had at least five 30-round magazines on him during the shooting.
READ MORE: What we know about Dallas federal building gunman Brian Clyde
“I heard what appeared to be three gunshots, and I was sitting having coffee, watching TV. I jumped up with my dog and cracked the window open from the fourth floor and I saw the gunman standing at the entrance to the courthouse, and he was blowing the front entrance out,” said witness Alan Wyatt. “There were two guards that popped out of the garage, and then he then turned the gun and fired into the garage. I don’t think he hit anybody, and then he just kind of took off.”
Tim Brown was perched in his Downtown Dallas apartment making his morning coffee when bullets started flying down below.
"I just like crouched behind that brick," he recalled. “And I'm sitting there with my phone over the thing, peeking over every chance I get."
Tim says it appeared the shooter was trying to get into the south entrance of the federal building. A mask covered the gunman’s face while his hands gripped a high-powered assault rifle. He had five magazines of ammo strapped to his hip.
Lane Brown lives in the same building as Tim. He says Clyde appeared to shoot randomly.
“He looked like he was dressed for Call of Duty,” Lane said. “I was like, ‘This guy is for real.’”
Herman Turner nearly had a face to face encounter with Clyde.
“When I came around that corner, that's when this gentleman started shooting,” he recalled.
That’s when Turner’s instincts kicked in.
“I started running when I found out what's going on and trying to warn people and tell them it's a guy down there shooting,” Turner said.
Witnesses say the entire interaction lasted less than a minute.
“He's got his back turned and I think someone shoots him in the shoulder,” Tim recalled. “I hear him yell like really loud and then he runs with like a limp into the parking lot. Probably about 40 or 50 yards. Collapses over, and then he didn't move after that.”
Homeland security officers fired on Clyde from inside the building, killing him. No one else was seriously injured. A federal employee who was taking cover received minor injuries.
The federal building was evacuated and streets around the area were shut down because law enforcement officials feared there could be a bomb in the suspect's car, which was parked near Griffin and Jackson streets.
The bomb squad used a robot to investigate but did not find anything explosive inside the car. Officers set off a controlled detonation as a precaution.
FBI official said the area around the building remains an active crime scene. They asked people to avoid the area.
ATF officials are working to trace Clyde's firearm and the FBI is looking into the motive for the shooting.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI. Witnesses who captured the shooting on video can submit it at tips.fbi.gov.