Patrick Sharp went out with a bang

[Coyote]

A 29-year-old man towed a trailer full of explosives into a suburban Dallas police station's parking lot Tuesday, then set fire to his pickup truck and began shooting at the building in an apparent attempt to lure people outside to kill them, authorities said.

Patrick Gray Sharp died after a shootout with officers, but it's unclear whether he was killed by an officer's bullet or one of his own, McKinney police Chief Doug Kowalski said.

No one else was hurt during the Tuesday morning clash, which led a local college to lock down its campus and alert students and faculty to stay home.

Sharp may have intended to lure people from the police station so he could shoot at them from a field across the street where he had taken position, Kowalski said. He also may have intended to kill them by blowing up the trailer, he said.

The fire set off ammunition in the truck but failed to ignite the trailer, which was filled with wood chips, ammonium nitrate, gasoline and road flares, Kowalski said.

Investigators found an assault rifle, a shotgun and a handgun on Sharp. Kowalski said Sharp fired at least 100 rounds at the police station, and the chief counted at least 23 bullet strikes on the building.

Sharp was found dead after police fired an unknown number of rounds while pursuing him in a line of trees where Sharp had taken cover and into an open field near Collin College, the chief said.

It wasn't clear how Sharp died, but Kowalski said a witness indicated he might have shot himself. The chief said investigators haven't determined why Sharp initiated the attack in the suburb of roughly 127,000 people about 30 miles north of Dallas.

"He had a plan. He was activating his plan. He was heavily armed," Kowalski said. "He looked like he knew what he wanted to do. What we don't know is why he wanted to do it."

Sharp's roommate, Eric McClellan, told The Associated Press by phone that he was on vacation outside Texas when he received calls from state troopers and his stepfather telling him what happened. He said he was "still in shock," and that there was nothing about Sharp that would lead him to believe he would try to attack police.

"He was fine and dandy when I left Texas two days ago, and, all of a sudden, I get a phone call," McClellan said. "There's nothing I can say. He was a great guy, a good friend."

McClellan said he was questioned about Sharp by police and couldn't provide them with much information.

He said he and Sharp kept guns in their residence because they like sports shooting.

"We're Texans," he said. "We have the right to bear arms."

McClellan said he was doing contract work for building wire manufacturer Encore Wire Corp. six years ago when he met Sharp, who was an employee of the company. They had been roommates for four years, he said.

Collin County records show Sharp and McClellan are co-owners of the manufactured home they shared near Anna, a town about 15 miles north of McKinney.

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[Coyote]

I found a pic:


Patrick Sharp

[DamagedGoods]

Umm... if his plan was what they assume... it wasn't particularly likely to work... Shooting at a building would not make me decide to come out and take a look, walls block bullets better than my body does.

[Coyote]

Authorities in McKinney, Texas, remained baffled Wednesday as to why a heavily armed man orchestrated an elaborate attack on the town's public safety building a day earlier, opening fire on officers and attempting to ignite explosive substances before turning the gun on himself as police closed in.

McKinney Police Chief Doug Kowalski said Wednesday that 29-year-old Patrick Gray Sharp "was looking to die" in what he called "a clear case of suicide by cop," but added that police still don't understand the motive behind the attack.

Investigators have spoken with Sharp's friends, family members and co-workers. They all described Sharp as "a very nice individual," Kowalski told CNN's "Rick's List."

"They are shocked by yesterday's events," Kowalski said.

McKinney city spokeswoman Anna Folmnsbee said Wednesday the area in front of the building was still a crime scene and the investigation was ongoing.

No one else was injured in the attack, which unfolded in less than five minutes, police said.

"He just elected that he was going to die yesterday, and he was going to go out with guns blazing," Kowalski said.

Sharp appeared to allude to his possible death a day before the attack, Kowalski said.

"We found some correspondence to that effect on some social networking pages," he said. "He contacted his previous boss and made statements to that effect."

On a Facebook page belonging to a Patrick Gray Sharp, with a listed current city of McKinney, Texas, the "likes and interests," section included "Trucks, Trailers, There's just something about shooting guns that makes me feel good ... "

The Dallas Morning News also obtained a Facebook message from Sharp to a female friend sent the morning of the attack. In the message, he wrote that he enjoyed "watching people beg for their life."

Sharp also indicated in the message that he had mental health issues."I have alot of [stuff] wrong with me, but didn't seek help. I don't take meds," the newspaper quoted the letter as saying.

Authorities said the incident began around 9 a.m. Tuesday when Sharp parked his truck, which was hauling a trailer, in front of the Department of Public Safety building in McKinney, about 30 miles north of Dallas. The building houses the police station and other city offices.

Sharp set the truck on fire, igniting ammunition inside the vehicle in what police believe was a tactic to draw people out of the building, Kowalski said. Sharp also attempted to set fire to the truck's trailer, which was carrying wood chips, road flares, gasoline and ammonium nitrate fertilizer, but it failed to ignite, Kowalski said.

"It looks like it was possibly an improvised explosive device," he said.

Sharp then retreated across the street to a tree line on the campus of Collin College, where he began firing on the public safety building's offices and windows and employees who were outside, Kowalski said.

Several campus structures were also struck by gunfire.

Sharp was found carrying an assault rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and a 45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, Kowalski said, adding that several loaded ammunition magazines were found on his body.

More than 100 shell casings have been recovered from the scene, he said.

The Collin County medical examiner's office ruled Wednesday that Sharp killed himself with a gunshot to his head. The finding cleared up confusion in the hours after the incident as to whether Sharp had committed suicide or been shot by police.

Kowalski said Sharp turned his pistol on himself after he was struck by a police officer's bullet in his arm, prohibiting him from using his long rifle.

Kowalski credited the lack of other injuries to police training as well as improvements made to the public safety building in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Though more than 20 windows were blown out by the gunfire, the building's solid masonry -- left pockmarked by the shots -- absorbed much of the blow.

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