Soldier who killed 5 Dallas officers showed PTSD symptoms

The Army reservist who killed five Dallas police officers last month showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after returning home from Afghanistan in 2014, but doctors concluded that he presented no serious risk to himself or others, according to newly released documents from the Veterans Health Administration.

Johnson, 25, was the sniper who targeted the officers at the conclusion of a peaceful march July 7 in downtown Dallas, where demonstrators were protesting fatal police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana.

The type of screening that he underwent is typically a first step to determine if the patient should be referred for further assessment to a mental health professional, said Joel Dvoskin, a clinical and forensic psychologist in Tucson, Arizona.

The reservist who specialized in carpentry and masonry told health care providers he had lower back pain and was avoiding "crowds of people and when in the public, scanning the area for danger, noting all the exits, watching everyone's actions."

The mother of Gavin Long, the former Marine and Iraq war veteran who killed three law enforcement officers July 17 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, told PBS' Tavis Smiley that her son had post-traumatic stress disorder and unsuccessfully sought the VA's help.