Mexican immigrant shoots and kills police officer

Margarita Martin-Hidalgo:

Marta Cruz had told police that her ex-boyfriend had been threatening her for weeks.

But as he emptied his handgun in an act of rage early Sunday, police say, his last bullet found another victim.

Dallas police Officer Brian Jackson died of a gunshot wound to his right underarm suffered in a gunfight on Madera Street near North Henderson Avenue in Old East Dallas.

"He was proud to be a cop. He did his job with a lot of emotion and passion," Police Chief David Kunkle said.

Officer Jackson was the 76th Dallas police officer to die in the line of duty and the first officer slain since November 2001.

Officer Jackson came to the department in January 2001 from Rhode Island. He married JoAnn DeMello Jackson in August.

Juan Lizcano, a 28-year-old Mexican immigrant, was being held at Lew Sterrett Justice Center on charges of capital murder and aggravated assault. Bail was set at $1 million and $25,000, respectively.

Officer Jackson, 28, was working late Saturday to help solve a recent double homicide and was among officers responding to a reported domestic disturbance in the 2400 block of North Henderson.

Ms. Cruz told police that Mr. Lizcano arrived at her home about 1:55 a.m. Sunday.

She said he pulled a handgun, shot into the ceiling and then pointed the gun at her, saying "next time, it will be you." He fled, and she called police.

About 45 minutes later, officers answered a call that Mr. Lizcano had returned to the house. Arriving officers reported seeing a man run into the back yard with a handgun. They pursued on foot as he jumped over fences and ran through yards toward Madera Street.

Three officers were fired upon as they searched an alley. The officers did not return fire.

Meanwhile, as he looked for Mr. Lizcano in the 2400 block of Madera Street, Officer Jackson was hit once in his right underarm, near his protective vest. He fired two or three rounds before going down.

Uninjured, Mr. Lizcano surrendered to officers. Police recovered an empty .357 Magnum handgun at the scene.

Officer Jackson was taken to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, where he died at 3:52 a.m.

Neighbor: Man threatened to take down police