One Officer Dead, One Recovering After Dallas Shooting

DALLAS, TX — One Dallas Police officer died Wednesday morning after a shooting incident at a Home Depot store in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas that left three with critical wounds.

Rogelio Santander, a three-year veteran of the department's Northeast Division died around 8:10 a.m. Wednesday, police said.

Crystal Almeida, a DPD officer, and Scott Painter, a loss prevention officer at Home Depot, remain hospitalized.

Police Chief U. Renee Hall addressed reporters in a Wednesday morning press conference. She said the department is mourning Santander's death while offering a measure of hope about the other officer's condition.

"Crystal Almeida and loss prevention officer Scott Painter are making remarkable recoveries. They are still in critical condition, but we are optimistic about what we are seeing right now."

A suspect was jailed Tuesday night after a manhunt-turned-police-chase.

Armando Luis Juarez, 29, was arrested and booked into Dallas County Jail on two aggravated assault charges and a property theft charge.

A statement issued Thursday evening by Dallas police described the moments leading up to the shooting.

An officer who was working off-duty at the Home Depot store detained a suspect before making a call for additional cover, police said.

The officer sought backup to put Juarez under arrest.

When Officers Almeida and Santander arrived, the suspect pulled a handgun and fired shots, striking a Home Depot worker and the two officers, police said.

The off-duty officer was uninjured, but the two injured officers and the Home Depot employee were rushed to Texas Health Presbyterian of Dallas, where they underwent surgery.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings asked for prayers for the families of the officers in a Tuesday afternoon press conference.

"Once again Dallas is at the precipice, looking into the hell of heartbreak as our police department was attacked this afternoon,” Rawlings said.

Earlier in the day, KXAS interviewed Juarez's grandmother, who said she could not believe her grandson had any involvement in the shooting.

Janie Longoria, Juarez's grandmother, confirmed police searched her home, but told the station she thought the search stemmed from a warrant for a traffic violation.

She said her niece is also a police officer.

Recent years have seen several attacks on police in North Texas, including a 2016 ambush that left five Dallas officers dead.

More recently, David Sherrard of Richardson' Police Department was shot and killed in what was referred to in police documents as a "tactical ambush."

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