One slain officer only married two weeks, another had two-year-old child

One was a newlywed. Another had survived multiple tours in Iraq.

The stories of the officers gunned down in a sniper attack in Dallas during a protest over recent police shootings of black men emerged yesterday as their identities became known.

Officer Brent Thompson, 43, had worked as an officer for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) authority for the last seven years.

DART chief James Spiller said Mr Thompson had married another DART officer within the last two weeks.

“Brent was a great officer,” Mr Spiller said. “He has served admirably during his time here at DART.”

Before joining the DART force, Thompson worked from 2004 to 2008 for DynCorp International, an American private military contractor. According to Thompson’s LinkedIn page, he worked as an international police liaison officer, helping teach and mentor Iraqi police.

Dallas police officer Patrick Zamarripa survived three tours in Iraq with the navy, his father, Rick Zamarripa, told The Washington Post. When he got out of the service five years ago, he joined the Dallas Police Department and recently started working a bicycle patrol in downtown.

He was married and was the father of a two-year-old daughter.