According to the Dallas Fire Department, the three fatalities included two women and one child.
Videos posted on Twitter showed two aircraft appearing to collide in the air before they both rapidly descended, causing a large fire and plumes of black smoke to billow into the sky.
The suspect was out on parole and was wearing an active ankle monitor. The Dallas police chief said it's a "travesty" that "we give violent criminals more chances than our victims."
A 25-year-old police officer was killed traveling to work for the start of his shift when he was hit by a driver going the wrong way on the highway.
Multiple cars were seen submerged in waters from the flash flooding in the early morning hours on Interstate 30.
Police said the woman, identified as Portia Odufuwa, was dropped off at the airport, changed her clothes inside a bathroom and then opened fire.