2019 Dallas Federal Courthouse Shooting

Overview

The 2019 Dallas Federal Courthouse Shooting was an attack by former United States Army infantryman Brian Clyde at a federal courthouse in Dallas, Texas in mid-June 2019. While Clyde was fatally shot during the incident by police, no officers or bystanders were injured or killed in the attack. Clyde's failure to cause any injuries or deaths, as well as his equipment and subsequent death, led him to become the subject of ridicule by many websites, including Facebook pages, Reddit, Twitter and the /k/ (weapons) board on 4chan.

Background

On June 17th, 2019, gunshots were fired at the Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse in downtown Dallas. The shooter, Brian Issack Clyde, was equipped with an ammunition belt, flak jacket, a DPMS Oracle AR-15 rifle and a gladius style machete. During a shootout with police officers, Clyde was wounded and retreated across the street to a parking lot and collapsed. Clyde received emergency medical treatment on the scene by US Marshals and Dallas police officers and was evacuated to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Developments

The Shooter

Soon after the shooting, many people began looking through Brian Clyde's old social media posts for more information. Clyde's posts revealed a keen interest in military armor/uniforms and weapons. The US Army confirmed that Clyde served from August 2015 to February 2017. Additionally, politically charged memes and photos were found on Clyde's social media pages.^[2] According to the website Heavy,^[3] Clyde posted memes referencing a spectrum of topics, including feminism, incels, the government and Alex Jones.

Tom Fox Photographs

As the online community learned more details about the shooting, many began to criticize and ridicule Clyde. A close-up photo taken by Dallas Morning News photographer Tom Fox quickly spawned several edits from the 4chan weapons board /k/ as well as Facebook users which were widely shared by gun-related and military pages on Facebook. Discussion about the shooting as well as jokes about the shooter were prevalent on Reddit^[6] and Twitter.^[7]

Meanwhile, Twitter user @kodacohen^[5] tweeted a photograph of Fox hiding on the side of the building just out of sight of Clyde (shown below).

Search Interest

External References