When James Boulware's mother heard her son had bought an armored van and used it during a shootout over the weekend, she said she wasn't surprised. What surprised her, she said, was that his target was the Dallas police, rather than her. Boulware, who is 35-years-old, reportedly bought an armored van on eBay last week from a company that called a similar one the "Zombie Apocalypse Assault Vehicle and Troop Transport."
Early Saturday morning, he drove it to the Dallas police headquarters and opened fire on officers. For hours, he holed up in the vehicle, telling police negotiators he was in possession of "C4" explosives. After a police sniper killed him, authorities found two pipe bombs inside the van. Boulware's family said he had been growing agitated and finally snapped.
Boulware, who had an alleged history of domestic violence and delusional behavior, had been distraught over a recent custody battle for his 11-year-old son. Boulware's mother - the boy's grandmother - had fought him for sole custody and won. He claimed she stole his boy. It was "the final straw for him," Boulware's mother, Jeannine Hammond, told The Washington Post.
Boulware's parents said they think he was making a statement when he attacked Dallas police. His father said he blamed them for taking away his son. His mother called it "suicide by cop." "For a long time he was the most wonderful father I had seen," Hammond said. "But he started losing his mind."
His outrage stemmed from a morning in April 2013, his parents said. Hammond said Boulware was reportedly sitting in her living room ranting about religion. "I don't want you to ever talk to me again about God," he said, according to Hammond. The argument escalated and Hammond said she told him: 'You're going to hell." By the time police arrived that day, Boulware had reportedly fled to Paris, Tex. On the way, he "called his brother and threatened to harm him," Paris Police Chief Bob Hundley said, according to the New York Times. "He told him he had just beaten up their mother and was on the way to Paris and then made a comment that he may shoot up some schools and churches along the way." He was arrested, but the case was dismissed the following year.
