An Army veteran wearing a mask and carrying more than 150 rounds of ammunition for his high-powered rifle was shot dead Monday after he opened fire outside a busy federal courthouse in downtown Dallas, authorities said.
Brian Isaack Clyde, 22, of Forth Worth, was pronounced dead at a hospital following the shooting outside the downtown Earle Cabell Federal Building, FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno said late Monday morning. Glass panes were shattered in a revolving door during the gunfight, but no one else was seriously hurt.
"But for the actions for the Federal Protective Service officers, this likely would have been a very deadly incident," DeSarno said.
DeSarno said Clyde was discharged from the Army in 2017. He served as an infantryman from August 2015 to February 2017 and achieved the rank of private first class, according to the Army.
Officials are still trying to determine a motive, but said there was nothing to indicate the presence of any other shooters or threats to the city, DeSarno said.
Clyde opened fire on the building at about 8:40 a.m., and law enforcement immediately responded, including officers from the Federal Protective Service.
A bomb squad later examined a vehicle associated with the gunman as a precaution and performed controlled explosions, authorities said. Two loud blasts could be heard.
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The Dallas Morning News reported that one of its photographers, Tom Fox, was outside the building and witnessed the shooter open fire.
Fox said he was outside the building when a masked man parked at the corner of two downtown streets. He said the man ran and began shooting at the courthouse, cracking the glass of the door.
A photo taken by Fox of the alleged shooter shows a man wearing a face mask and body armor, and carrying a rifle. Another photo taken by Fox shows federal officers tending to a shirtless man lying on the ground in a parking lot outside the building.
"I was just praying he couldn't see me," Fox said in an interview aired on "NBC Nightly News."
Several witnesses told NBC DFW they heard between 15 to 20 shots fired.
Police say federal officers are leading the investigation.
The Earle Cabel Federal Building houses federal courts, the U.S. Attorney's office for the Northern District of Texas and the U.S. Marshals Services, as well as the Dallas Passport agency.
