Dallas gunman left messages written in his own blood during attack

The gunman who shot dead five officers in Dallas and wounded seven others wrote cryptic messages in his own blood on the wall where he holed up before his death, police have said.

Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old former army veteran, left a series of mysterious letters daubed in blood on the walls during stand-off after a shooting that killed five police and injured seven others.

It also emerged that he sang and taunted police during negotiations, asking how many officers he had shot and warning that he planned to kill more.

Police have said they believe Johnson may have been planning a bigger attack that could have killed many more.

A large stash of explosives and details from a journal found at Johnson's home indicate he may have been planned a larger bomb attack which could have had a "devastating" impact, city's police chief David Brown told CNN's State Of The Union programme.

The diary indicated that the former soldier had been "practicing explosives" for a major attack - but may have decided to "fast track" his plans after several black men died at the hands of police in recent days.

As Dallas reels from the attacks, police have been trying to unravel what led Johnston to embark on his spree.

It appears that he was motivated by a hatred of police and was a member of several militant black rights groups. The black rights matter group have condemned his actions.

Detectives are still trying to work out the meaning of Johnson's bloody messages that might give a clue to his state of mind.

He left some some markings including the letters 'RB' on a wall and in the stairwell where he died after police sent in a bomb carried by a robot when talks broke down.

Mr Brown also insisted that he had been right to kill the gunman using a bomb carried by a robot after talks with police broke down.

"He seemed very much in control and very determined to hurt other officers," he said.

"Without our actions, he would have hurt more officers."