By JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) — A person was shot in an exchange of gunfire with federal officers outside a federal courthouse in downtown Dallas Monday morning, city police said, and a blast was later heard after the bomb squad said it would perform a controlled explosion on a vehicle.
The injured person was taken to a hospital and no one else was injured by shots fired outside the Earle Cabell Federal Building, Dallas police said via Twitter. A large law enforcement presence was visible downtown late Monday morning, with police closing off several blocks around the federal building.
Police did not immediately release any information about the person or the nature of their injuries. A bomb squad examined a vehicle associated with that person as a precaution and decided to perform a controlled explosion. A loud blast could be heard downtown at 10:38 a.m.
The Dallas Morning News reports that one of its photographers, Tom Fox, was outside the building and witnessed a gunman opening fire. A photograph shows authorities tending to a shirtless man lying on the ground in a parking lot outside the building.
Fox said he was outside the building when a man in a mask 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.
The window panes in the courthouse’s revolving door were broken.
Chad Cline, 46, who lives in a building near the courthouse, told The Associated Press that just before 9 a.m. a message was broadcast throughout the building that there was an active shooter in the area and that residents should stay inside. Less than half an hour later, another message said there was a potential bomb threat and that residents needed to leave. He, his wife and their two dogs went to a coffee shop. When he returned to his building later in the morning, he asked an officer armed with a rifle when he would be able to get back in and the officer didn’t know.
Police say federal officers are now leading the investigation.
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Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle contributed to this report.
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