Navy veteran Patrick Zamarripa ID’d as 2nd officer killed in Dallas shooting
A second officer slain in Thursday’s sniper attack on law enforcement officials has been identified by family members as Patrick Zamarripa.
Zamarripa’s father, Rick, told the Washington Post that he texted his son when he heard reports of gunshots during a protest downtown. Uncharacteristically, he received no reply and was later called by Parkland Hospital and informed that his son was one of the victims in the attack.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Rick Zamarripa said he learned from another officer that his son had died.
“He wouldn’t tell me,” the father told the Washington Post. “He had that look on his face. I knew.”
The slain officer served in the Navy and did three tours of duty in Iraq before joining the Dallas Police Department, his father said. He left the armed forces five years ago.
“He comes to the United States to protect people here, and they take his life,” Rick Zamarripa said.
The 32-year-old is survived by his wife, Kristy Villasenor, and his 2-year-old daughter, Lyncoln. He was also a devoted father, and his stepmother, Maria, told the New York Daily News that he was proud that his daughter had just been learning to speak.
“We were just happy to hear her putting words together and he had a big smile on his face,” she said. “That’s what I’ll miss most, his smile.”
An ardent fan of the Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys, Patrick Zamarripa routinely posted photos on Facebook of his family at games.
Zamarripa is the second of five Dallas law enforcement officers killed Thursday night by snipers while protesters demonstrated against police shootings in Baton Rouge, La. and Falcon Ridge, Minn. The first victim identified was Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer Brent Thompson, whose chief said he had just married a fellow officer two weeks before the attack.
The three other victims have not yet been identified. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Friday that their names “remain unreleased as we await notification to all of the families.”
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