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.
No officers have been injured, but one suspect who has spoken with police said he had been hurt, Brown said. 
The police
chief said police had 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.
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.
A video of the shooting on social media showed a police
officer approaching a black van with a flashlight as two other police
cruisers pulled up behind the vehicle. The officer abruptly turned and
ran away and then a volley of gunshots could be heard.
In another video, the van could be seen ramming a police
cruiser before gunfire rang out again and the vehicle drove off.
The Dallas Morning News reported that police in the city
of Paris, some 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Dallas, had arrested a
James Boulware in 2013 after he had obtained firearms, ammunition and
body armor and threatened to attack his family, schools, and churches.
Reuters could not confirm that the two incidents involved the same individual.
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