Dallas police shooter's father says 'liberal people' drove son to 'breaking point'

The father of a man who opened fire on Dallas police headquarters blames liberal policies for his son’s obsessive anger.

“Every one of us has a breaking point,” said Jim Boulware. “He hit his.”

A police sniper shot and killed 35-year-old James Boulware -- described as a conspiracy theorist who had made threats against schools, churches, and family members – after he fired gunshots and detonated explosive devices shortly after midnight Saturday at the police station.

His father told CNN his son was enraged at police – who the younger man blamed for taking away his son in a custody battle.

Jim Boulware said liberal policies had spurred a Child Protective Services investigation after he choked his mother two years ago, which landed him in jail for three weeks – until his father bailed him out.

"I knew he was angry at police, he blamed them for taking his son," the elder Boulware said. "I tried to tell him the police didn't do it. The police were doing their job to enforce the laws. If you want to get to that, you've got to go back to the liberal people that put these laws in place, to where CPS and all can grab kids."

The elder Boulware said his son was broke and unable to find work due to his criminal record, although his son had purchased an $8,250 armored vehicle on eBay that he used during the assault on police headquarters.

"He said, 'Dad, I have lost my house, my tools, my son. I'm going through every dime I've got. I can't find a job because I got domestic violence on my record,'” Jim Boulware said. “He said, 'I've lost everything.'"

A court awarded custody of his son to Jeannine Hammond – James Boulware’s mother and the boy’s grandmother – in April over mental health concerns.

James Boulware ranted in court that he knew about news events – such as Osama bin Laden’s hiding spot – before they happened, and family members and court personnel feared that he would target them for violence.

Hammond said her son had threatened to shoot at school, but not kill any students, to demonstrate why armed guards were necessary.

She considered having him committed but feared that might worsen his mental health issues, which dated back to his teenage years and included a suicide attempt and schizophrenia diagosis.

"I really kept hoping he would straighten himself up," Hammond said. "But he couldn't -- he really couldn't."

Watch the entire interview posted online by CNN: