The Latest: Police: Officers ‘heroic’ in helping paramedic

DALLAS – The Latest on the Dallas shootings that left two people dead and two others critically injured, including a paramedic responding to the scene (all times local):

1:15 p.m.

A police commander is praising Dallas officers as “heroic” for exposing themselves to gunfire while rushing to help a paramedic critically injured in a shooting.

Assistant Police Chief Randy Blankenbaker said during a news conference Tuesday that the suspect, Derick Lamont Brown, opened fire on paramedics responding to a shooting call at his home Monday.

Blankenbaker says Brown was acting erratically and killed his roommate before shooting and critically injuring a neighbour outside.

The commander says Brown fired at responding officers trying to help paramedic William An (Ahn). Officers were able to place An in a police vehicle and rush him to a hospital. The neighbour was also rushed to a hospital with critical injuries.

Blankenbaker said the shooting was initially reported as a possible suicide, which added to the confusion as officers arrived.

Blankenbaker says Brown was shot and injured by an officer before retreating into his home. Police say Brown then fatally shot himself.

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12 p.m.

Dallas police have identified a 36-year-old man with a criminal record as the suspected gunman who killed one person and critically wounded two others, including a paramedic.

Authorities said during a news conference Tuesday that Derick Lamont Brown was has been identified as the man found dead in a local home after the shootings Monday in a neighbourhood east of downtown.

Investigators believe Brown fatally shot his roommate before going outside, where he shot a neighbour and later a responding paramedic. The paramedic and neighbour were critically wounded.

Assistant Police Chief Randy Blankenbaker says Brown’s criminal history includes arrests for aggravated assault, driving while intoxicated and illegal gun possession.

The shootings brought a heavy police response and a lockdown of the area. Investigators believe Brown was shot and injured by police, but that he fatally shot himself inside his home.

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12:15 a.m.

Investigators are trying to piece together what sparked a shooting that left two people dead and critically injured a paramedic and another person in a Dallas neighbourhood.

Police believe a man shot and injured his neighbour, then opened fire on emergency workers who responded to the shooting Monday. Police say the suspect was later found dead in a local home, along with another body.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says the paramedic underwent surgery and was in critical but stable condition at Baylor University Medical Center.

Rawlings says the neighbour who was shot also was in intensive care, though other details haven’t been released.

No information has been released about the second person found dead, but police believe the gunman shot the person before fatally shooting himself.