The Home Depot loss prevention associate who was critically wounded last month in a shooting that killed one Dallas police officer and injured another is home from the hospital. Scott Painter was shot three times in the April 24 attack at the Home Depot where he worked. The Washington state native was helping an off-duty officer who had detained a man at the store. When two Dallas officers showed up to determine whether the man had an outstanding warrant, he shot them and Painter and fled, police say. Officer Rogelio Santander died the next day of his injuries. Painter and Officer Crystal Almeida, 26, Santander’s partner, were critically wounded. She remains hospitalized.
Almeida’s father told the El Paso Times last week that his daughter was making some progress but had a long way in her recovery and at least one surgery to go. Dallas Police Association President Michael Mata said Painter was released from the hospital on Monday. Police arrested the suspect, Armando Luis Juarez, after a five-hour manhunt and chase that started in southeast Dallas and ended near Dallas Love Field. Juarez is accused of shooting Santander, Almeida and Painter and fleeing while the off-duty officer who detained him was checking on an outstanding warrant, according to police records. Juarez is being held in the Dallas County Jail on $4.1 million bail. The Dallas Police Association’s Assist the Officer Foundation is raising money to help the families of the officers. A separate Go-Fund-Me page has been established for Painter and his family. [Source: Dallas News] (Photo courtesy of Dallas News)