On June 17, 2019, a shooting occurred at the Earle Cabell Federal Building and CourthouseinDallas, Texas, United States. No law enforcement officers or civilians were injured in the shooting, though one person sustained a superficial injury when she was taking cover. The shooter, identified as Brian Isaack Clyde, was then shot and killed by one or more federal officers.
A man, identified as Brian Isaack Clyde, opened fire near Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse, before making his way to the glass door of the building and opening fire inside. Three officers from the Federal Protective Service returned fire.[1] Following an exchange of gunfire, in which Clyde was mortally wounded by one or more federal officers, he ran towards the parking lot and fired five more rounds before he collapsed and urinated himself. Federal officers performed CPR and took Clyde to the Baylor University Medical Center, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from the courthouse,[2] where he was pronounced deceased.[3] Authorities later detonated his vehicle.[1][4] At the time of the shooting, Clyde was carrying more than 150 rounds of ammunition.[5]
Photojournalist Tom Fox, who works for The Dallas Morning News, was at the courthouse on assignment to take pictures of a defendant in a charter school fraud case when the shooting started; he was able to capture two photos of the suspect through a telephotozoom lens before taking cover behind a pillar adjacent to the entrance.[6] He took a video and additional photos of the scene after the suspect had been shot by law enforcement officers.[6]
Brian Isaack Clyde (September 30, 1996 – June 17, 2019), a 22-year-old male,[7] was a private first class in the U.S. Army, and was honorably discharged[5] after serving as an infantryman from August 2015 to February 2017.[8] According to The Dallas Morning News, he was stationed at Fort CampbellinKentucky.[8] He was not deployed to a war zone during his time in the military.[5]
Although Clyde had not been of "investigative interest" to the FBI, his half-brother had contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) three years before the shooting, alleging that Clyde was suicidal and had a fascination with guns. The FBI did not follow up on the tip because there was no specific threat specified.[10] Investigations into his social media history took place.[8][11]
Clyde appears to have self-radicalized online,[12] posting memes related to the incel subculture that appeals to men who feel lonely and alienated, and, ultimately, getting "sucked into a hateful vortex that tells them that their lives are only valuable if they go out bringing death" to others.[13][14][15][16]
Clyde had uploaded extremist far-right memes including ideas about the Confederate States and Nazism.[17][13][15] Some of his posts were transphobic and others were anti-feminist.[17] In April 2019 he posted a meme suggesting that combining eco-friendly and libertarian ideas with far-right authoritarianism, symbolized by what the Daily Beast describes as "a green flag with a Nazi swastika in the middle", could be the "solution to all of our nation’s political problems."[17]
A Maryland Air Force base was inspired by the Dallas shooting to initiate a program teaching personnel to recognize the warning signs that "introverted, sexless individuals" may be drawn to the "incel" online subculture.[14][19][16]
