Dallas shooting victims include veterans, fathers and 1 newlywed

One slain officer was a newlywed. Another had survived multiple tours in Iraq, only to be killed back home.

The stories of those killed in a sniper attack in Dallas during a protest over recent police shootings of black men emerged Friday as their identities became known. Authorities say five officers were killed and seven others wounded in the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Two civilians were also injured.

Brent Thompson

Brent Thompson, 43, worked as an officer with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority for the last seven years. There he found love, marrying another transit officer within the last two weeks, according to DART Chief James Spiller.

On Thursday, he became the first DART officer killed in the line of duty since the agency's police force was founded in 1989, according to spokesman Morgan Lyons.

Thompson had six grown children from a previous marriage and had recently welcomed his third grandchild, according to Tara Thornton, a close friend of Thompson's 22-year-old daughter, Lizzie.

Patrick (Patricio) Zamarripa

Patrick Zamarripa, 32, had an urge to serve — first in the navy, where his family said he did three tours in Iraq, then back home in Texas as a Dallas police officer.

"He went over there [to Iraq] and didn't get hurt at all, and he comes back to the States and gets killed," his father, Rick
Zamarripa, told The Associated Press by phone Friday.

When Rick saw news of the shooting on TV, he texted his son to make sure he was all right, as he did whenever he heard officers were in danger. Typically, his son would text back quickly to say he was fine and would call back later.

This time, no reply came.

Zamarripa is survived by his wife, Kristy Villasenor, whom he'd known since high school, their two-year-old daughter, Lyncoln, and a 10-year-old stepson.

Michael Krol

Michael Krol, 40, was a caring person who had always wanted to help others, his mother said Friday.

"He knew the danger of the job, but he never shied away from his duty," Susan Ehlke of Redford, Mich., said in a prepared statement the day after her son was killed.

Krol's family said he moved to Dallas to become a police officer in 2007 because Detroit wasn't hiring. He had worked security at a local hospital, then been a deputy at the Wayne County jail.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement that he had been notified that "one of the fallen officers in Dallas is 
a Michigan native who previously worked in law enforcement in southeast Michigan." But he did not name Krol.

Lorne Ahrens

Senior Corporal Lorne Ahrens, a 14-year veteran with the Dallas police, was married to a Dallas police detective and had two children, a 10-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy.

Steve Stribley, a Dallas patrol officer, told the Dallas Morning News that Ahrens, 48, was "an incredible loving and devoted husband and father" and a "greatly respected veteran of the department."

His father-in-law Charlie Buckingham told the Washington Post the California native liked to take his kids fishing and out to movies and would often speak at his daughter's school about policing and safety.

He was also a 6-foot-2 former semi-pro football player. 

"He was a big ol' boy," Buckingham said. "Big as he is, just walking down the street he cut a real figure. I'm sure it helped him in his work."

Michael Smith

Michael Smith, 55, was a veteran officer who was once selected by the Dallas Police Association's for the "Cops' Cop" award.

Father Michael Forge, pastor at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, notified parishioners of Smith's death in an email sent Friday. Smith, his wife Heidi and their two daughters were part of the parish in Farmers Branch north of Dallas.

"As you may have heard by now officer Mike Smith, husband of fourth grade teacher Heidi Smith and father of Victoria (Class of 2016) and Caroline (incoming 4th grade) was shot and killed last night in Dallas while on duty," Father Michael Forge wrote. "I'm asking all of us to pull together in prayer and support for the Smith family, as well as the other officers' families who were killed along with Mike."

Smith was a U.S. Army Ranger before joining the Dallas Police Department in 1989.

He was recognized as conscientious and for his positive attitude, according to a 2009 newsletter for the Dallas Police Association. He strove for excellence, often attending advanced training on his own dime.

Several years ago, he intervened when a gang member lunged at his partner. Smith was cut on the head during the incident and received 31 stitches.

He was a volunteer at the YMCA and his church, and was involved in working with kids at risk, and once developed a racquetball program for kids at the local YMCA, the newsletter said.

"He's just a really nice guy. He loved his wife, loved his daughters. He spent time with his family. The whole situation is really sad," Vanessa Smith, a friend of the officer's wife who is not related to the family, told The Associated Press.

Wounded officers

Details also emerged about some of the officers who were hurt in the attack.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit Officer Misty McBride was in hospital Friday recovering from bullet wounds that her father said struck her abdomen and arm, breaking her shoulder.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer Jesus Retana, 39, was recovering after leaving the hospital, where he received treatment for unspecified injuries, according to Rafael McDonnell, communications manager at the Resource Center, a gay rights group Retana was affiliated with.

Dallas police Officer Gretchen Rocha, 23, was wounded by shrapnel, but her family didn't know the details of how she was hurt or the extent of her injuries.