Dallas shooter Micah Xavier Johnson 'loved his country' but became 'disappointed' after military service, parents say

Dallas shooter Micah Xavier Johnson used to be a loving, outgoing person until he served in the U.S. military and became "very disappointed."

In an interview with The Blaze, Johnson's parents spoke up about their son and how serving in the military affected him.

His mother, Delphine, shared that Johnson had always been fascinated with the police as a boy, and as he grew up, he became "gung ho" about serving in the military, which he eventually did.

Johnson's military service lasted about six years and included a deployment to Aghanistan for several months. However, when he returned home, his experiences seemed to have turned him into a "hermit."

While he loved his country and wanted to take part in protecting it, his disappointment with the military ran deeply, his mother explained.

"The military was not what Micah thought it would be," she told The Blaze. "He was very disappointed, very disappointed. But it may be that the ideal that he thought of our government, what he thought the military represented, it just didn't live up to his expectations."

Johnson's father, James, said that after his military, Johnson showed an interest in the history of African Americans, although his behavior did not outwardly display hatred for white people.

James said he still has not come to grips with what his son did.

Johnson opened fire during a Black Lives Matter rally and killed five white police officers and wounded others. He said his actions were in response to the recent killings of black people by white police men.

A few days before the Dallas shooting, Johnson wrote on a website called Black Power about "whites" killing "innocent beings."

"Why do so many whites (not all) enjoy killing and participating in the death of innocent beings? Then they all stand around and smile while their picture is taken with a hung, burned and brutalised black person," his post read, according to The Telegraph.