"A friend of everyone:" Man says he served in basic training with Dallas sniper Micah Johnson
DALLAS -- FOX6 News on Friday, July 8th spoke with a man who served in basic training with 25-year-old Micah Johnson -- the man authorities said was the sniper responsible for taking the lives of five police officers in Dallas.
The shooting happened Thursday, July 7th during a protest over back-to-back fatal shootings of African-American men in Louisiana (Alton Sterling) and Minnesota (Philando Castile).
Will Krenn
Will Krenn said he and Johnson both arrived at basic training seven years ago Friday.
Krenn said he is friends with Johnson on Facebook, and he said at first, he didn't suspect the Dallas sniper was the person he knew.
Krenn said he heard the news when listening to Dan O'Donnell on WISN radio Friday. He said the allegations against Johnson sound nothing like the Micah Johnson he remembers.
The dead gunman in the Dallas ambush that left five officers dead has been identified as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas, law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. Johnson had no criminal record or known te
"Micah would always find something to make light of the situation and make us laugh. He was accepted by everyone. Sometimes in basic there can be cliques. Micah wasn't into that. He was a friend of everyone. It didn't matter your skin color or who you were. Micah was a good guy," Krenn said.
Krenn said the news was so shocking that when he found out, he had to stop driving and began shaking.
Johnson had no criminal record and no known terror ties, a law enforcement official said.
Police said in an exchange with officers before his death, Johnson said he was acting alone and had no ties to terror groups.
The gunman also said "he wanted to kill officers, and he expressed killing white people, he expressed killing white officers" and "expressed anger for Black Lives Matter."
Johnson was killed by a bomb-carrying police robot after failed negotiations in Dallas.
