Two chapters in Dallas police shooting close as El Centro reopens, memorial clears

Though the horror of that night doesn’t feel that far away.

We know Micah Johnson shot two Dallas police officers just before 9 p.m that Thursday at Main St. and Lamar. El Centro College’s Chief of Police says Johnson was talking with the officers he killed before opening fire. He killed DART Officer Brent Thompson at the doorstep of the college before shooting his way inside the building.

“These are the doors where the gunman made entry,” said Chief Joseph Hannigan. “He shot out the first door, and shot these two interiors out, the blood trail was from this second door that led right to the stairwell behind you.”

Chief Hannigan took the media through a walking tour of El Centro Tuesday. Divots from bullets line the stairway to the second floor library, where Johnson aimed at officers outside.

“You’ll see two boarded up windows, this is where he engaged police officers that were on Elm street,” said Chief Hannigan. “He was shooting at any officer that would move.”

From there he ran to a second floor computer server room, where officers eventually had him cornered. Holes in the wall are evidence of Johnson’s last gun battle with DPD.

The damaged drywall and ceiling tiles show the force of the blast that killed him.

“When a decision was made to bring the robot in, the robot came down this pathway and delivered the device to this location,” said Chief Hannigan. “And the siege was ended.”

That room will soon be repaired, and back at police headquarters the memorial is already cleared. Both spaces will go back to their normal uses. But what happened there, and how they made us feel will take much longer to fade away.

El Centro College will reopen to staff Wednesday, July 20th, and to students Thursday July 21st.