Cops Killed by Dallas Sniper Wanted to Help People

Two Dallas Police Department officers killed by a sniper during a protest Thursday night in Dallas have been identified as 32-year-old Patrick Zamarripa and 40-year-old Michael Krol. Zamarripa was a veteran of the Navy who served three tours with the military police in Iraq, the Washington Post reports. “He comes to the United States to protect people here,” his father Rick says. “And they take his life.” Rick texted Zamarripa when he saw the shooting on the news—something he does often when worried about his son—but this time he never got a text back. Zamarripa had a young daughter and loved the Rangers and Cowboys.

Krol, a Detroit native, worked for years to become a police officer, the Washington Post reports. He started as a security guard at a hospital, where he was remembered for helping an elderly patient, including taking her to the restroom. “He was a big guy and had a big heart,” his brother-in-law says. According to Fox 2 Detroit, Krol joined the Wayne County Sheriff's Department before moving to Dallas in 2007 to realize his dream. “Those officers made the ultimate sacrifice and died honoring their oaths to protect and serve,” Wayne County Sheriff Beny Napoleon says in a statement. Two other Dallas police officers have yet to be publicly identified, ABC News reports. The fifth officer killed, Brent Thompson, worked for Dallas Area Rapid Transit and had just recently gotten married. (More Dallas police shooting stories.)