A man is in custody Wednesday after slamming his pickup truck into the Dallas FOX television station, ranting and throwing leaflets before surrendering to officers, police say.
At about 6:15 a.m., a man, identified by police as Michael Fry, crashed his pickup into the downtown Dallas TV station multiple times before he jumped out of the truck and began yelling, police said.
Fry then grabbed a bag out of the truck and placed it near the building, police said, which prompted a bomb squad investigation.
Fry eventually surrendered to police and his bag and truck were later cleared with no threatening devices found, police said.
"The officers say he was rambling and saying all kinds of nonsense," said Cpl. Debra Webb, with the Dallas Police Department. "It appears he was in some sort of agitated state so we're not really sure exactly what the issue was and why he was doing that."
Video from NBC 5's Texas Sky Ranger showed Wednesday's crash with papers littering the parking lot adjacent to the building. Police said the papers mentioned a local television station other than the FOX affiliate.
NBC 5 News"It's concerning no matter what the building is or who's inside," Webb said. "We're really lucky today that no one was injured."
Dallas police later said the papers Fry had with him were about an officer-involved shooting in another city and that he wasn't directly targeting the media with his attack.
The name on Fry's flyer, Roberto Hernandez, is the same name as a man shot and killed in 2012 by a Denton County Sheriff's Deputy during a traffic stop. In the 2012 report, deputies said Hernandez and his passenger, Michael Chadwick Fry, would not exit the vehicle as ordered. Deputies said Hernandez put the car in reverse and rammed into the deputy's patrol vehicle. The deputy then fired into the car, killing Hernandez.
After surrendering, Fry was taken to Parkland Hospital in Dallas for a medical evaluation. Following that, he was transported to the Dallas County Jail where he was charged with criminal mischief.
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Online Denton County records show that Fry has been booked into jail more than two dozen times since 2003 on a variety of crimes, including public intoxication and arson.
A bomb-sniffing dog checked vehicles parked in the studio parking lot and lots nearby.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit said train and bus service that was suspended in the area has returned to normal operations.
