- 10 July 2016
- US & Canada
AP
The five victims who were shot and killed during a deadly ambush at a Dallas protest were targeted by a gunman upset with the police.
Five police officers were shot dead while seven others and two civilians were injured in the shooting.
The gunman, identified as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson, told negotiators he wanted to kill whites, especially white police officers,
He was killed by an explosive device detonated by a police robot.
Johnson's victims were a mix of veterans, parents, grandparents, spouses and community leaders.
DART Officer Brent Thompson, 43
EPA
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) authority confirmed that Mr Thompson was one of the fallen officers.
Mr Thompson, who joined the department in 2009, is the first officer to be killed in the line of duty since DART began its police force in 1989, said spokesman Morgan Lyons,
Mr Lyons said three other DART officers were wounded in the attack, but they are expected to recover.
Thompson was also recently married and served in the military as a Marine, according to his Facebook account.
He had trained police in Iraq and Afghanistan while working for a private military contractor, according to his interview with the New York Times in 2006.
Officer Patrick Zamarripa, 32
TWITTER
Mr Zamarripa, a Navy veteran and father of two, was one of the four police officers who was killed in the crossfire.
He served three tours in Iraq, his father Rick Zamarripa told the Washington Post.
"He comes [back] to the United States to protect people here", his father said. "And they take his life."
He would have turned 33 next month. He joined the Dallas Police Department after leaving the Navy. Most recently, he was assigned to downtown bicycle patrols. His father wanted him to quit the force because it was dangerous, but he told him he wanted to stay because he liked the action.
"Patrick would bend over backward to help anybody. He'd give you his last dollar if he had it. He was always trying to help people, protect people,'' his father The Associated Press news agency. "As tough as he was, he was patient, very giving."
Officer Michael Krol, 40
REUTERS
Michigan native Michael Krol joined Dallas' police department in 2007.
Mr Krol was a former employee of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office in Michigan from 2003 to 2007.
Krol's mother, Susan Ehlke, told local television station WXYZ her son was a very "caring person".
"He was living a dream of being a police officer. [He] Just turned 40 in April. He knew the danger of the job but he never shied away from his duty as a police officer", she said.
Officer Michael J. Smith, 55
SUNLAND PARK POLICE DEPARTMENT
Sergeant Michael Smith was a father of two, according to local media outlets and the Dallas Morning News. He was a former Army ranger and attended the Lamar Institute of Technology.
He served with the Dallas police department for nearly three decades, and was known to be conscientious and professional, even paying for his training if needed.
He received a "Cops' Cop" award from the Dallas Police Association.
Officer Lorne Ahrens, 48
SUNLAND PARK POLICE DEPARTMENT
Senior Corporal Lorne Ahrens was a member of the Dallas Police Department for 14 years, according to Dallas Morning News.
"He was always one of the happy ones, with a smile on his face," one of his fellow officers told the newspaper.
The father of two died in hospital from his injuries.
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