Dallas Police Chief David Brown says Dallas shooter Micah Johnson wrote the words “RB” in blood before he was killed by a police-detonated robot. What does it mean?
Police are trying to find out.
Brown said police are “trying to figure out what those initials mean, but we haven’t determined that yet,” according to KTLA. The Associated Press said that Johnson scrawled the initials on the walls of the parking garage where he was holed up in a standoff with police. He used his own blood to write out the initials in a stairwell in the car garage where he sequestered, said UK Telegraph.
Brown revealed that police found the initials on CNN. He told the network that police were trying to decipher the gunman’s cryptic final comment, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Theories abound:
1. It’s a Biblical Reference
One theory, said the UK Telegraph, is that the initials stand for “Righteous Blood,” a reference to Matthew 23:35 in the Bible, which says: “Upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth.”
2. It refers to the Pan-African Flag
Micah Johnson’s Facebook cover photo. (Facebook)
A second theory: Johnson meant to write “RBG.” The red, black, and green flag is also known as the Pan-African flag; a symbol of black power, it was displayed on Johnson’s Facebook page, UK Telegraph said.
3. Social Media Commentators Offered Their Own Theories
On social media, amateur detectives set out to solve the mystery. Some of their answers were more serious than others.
me: so apparently the dallas shooter wrote “RB” in his own blood on a wall before he died. what could it mean?
stella: idk. robot bomb.
😂😂
— brian mccarroll (@BrianCMcCarroll) July 10, 2016
The Dallas shooter scribbled RB in his own blood, I’ve got an idea as to what that may stand for, what’s your opinion? I think “Racial Bias”
— Dwayne Moore (@nationdivided) July 10, 2016
the “RB” that the dallas shooter wrote in his own blood stands for “Arby’s”, a homophone for “RB’s”, in which the “RB” stands for roast beef
— Druthers Haver (@6thgrade4ever) July 10, 2016
Or could it be the initials of a person, even an accomplice? The Dallas shooter also scrawled other markings, which police did not identify, said NBC41-Columbus.
Some were illegible, said the UK Telegraph.
Brown said police believe Johnson, 25, of Mesquite, Texas, was planning large attacks, says KTLA.
Johnson is responsible for the rampage that killed five Dallas police officers and injured others during a Black Lives Matter protest. Brown has said previously that Johnson was angry at white people and recent police shootings and wanted to kill white police officers.
David Brown has served on the police force in Dallas, Texas for 36 years. (Twitter/David Brown)
“We’re convinced that this suspect had other plans and thought that what he was doing was righteous and believed that he was going to target law enforcement — make us pay for what he sees as law enforcement’s efforts to punish people of color,” Brown said, speaking to Jake Tapper on CNN.
During negotiations, Johnson also laughed at police, sang songs, and taunted them, asking how many he had killed, Brown said, according to the UK Telegraph.
The cryptic letters aren’t the only writings Johnson left behind. According to The Dallas Morning News, the Army veteran also left behind a manifesto journal in which he “detailed tactical movements, including one called ‘shoot and move,’ designed to confuse police. That’s why police initially thought there was more than one shooter triangulating police, said the newspaper.
What do you think “RB” means? Put your ideas in the comment thread.
Jessica McBride is a Heavy contributor. She was a crime, government, and breaking news reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and reporter for the Waukesha Freeman newspaper. Her award-winning work has appeared in numerous magazine, newspaper, and online publications. She has also appeared as a crime reporter on Investigation Discovery Channel, History Channel, and Oxygen Channel. She can be reached by email at jessica.mcbride@heavy.com.July 10, 2016 8:13 pm
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