DALLAS — A lone gunman who riddled Dallas police headquarters in a “helter-skelter” rampage Saturday with an assault rifle was shot and killed by a police sniper after fleeing in an armored van, police said.

“We can now confirm that the susp in the van is deceased but unable to confirm ID pending Med Ex. identification,” the Dallas police department said on Twitter.

Police waited several hours to declare the suspect dead until they could examine his getaway van, which they feared had been rigged with explosives.

When bomb squads intentionally detonated suspected ordinance inside the van, the vehicle caught fire, setting off live rounds inside, police said. In addition, police found two more pipe bombs in the van.

No one was injured in the attack, even though the gunman — angry over a child custody battle — had raked the lobby and second floor of the headquarters from several angles, shattering glass and sending officers scrambling. He also planted pipe bombs packed with shrapnel at the headquarters, rammed a police car and opened fire again before speeding off.

“We are blessed that our officers survived this ordeal,” Police Chief David Brown told reporters. “There are bullet holes in squad cars where officers were sitting, bullet holes in the lobby where staff was sitting.”  (read more)