“You see him fall back, and then seeing him stand up, and he grabs some of his property as his eye’s bleeding,” said Police Chief Eddie Garcia.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth Police released an edited body camera video showing the moment a Community Response Unit Specialist was shot. It happened as Edward Zapata responded to a home to take a report about a burglary that had happened days before. During the shooting, Zapata continued helping others despite being injured.
The video shows CRU Specialist Edward Zapata falling to the ground after being struck in the left eye on April 28 while at work, just after 12:30 p.m. in the 3500 block of Juliet Lane.
Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia confirmed the suspect, identified as 39-year-old Angel Cantu, used a pellet gun during the shooting.
Despite his injury, the video shows Zapata bleeding as he helped a woman climb over a fence to safety.
Police said officers later engaged in a shootout with Cantu, who had already fired at Zapata. Cantu fled the scene, prompting an hours-long search involving K-9 units, dozens of officers and a police helicopter.
Body camera video shows officers eventually arresting Cantu around 5:30 p.m. Jail records show he now faces three counts of aggravated battery on a public servant.
Asked what the most disturbing part of the footage was, Garcia said, “Obviously, seeing Edward getting hit, you see him fall back, and then seeing him stand up, and he grabs some of his property as his eye’s bleeding.”
Garcia added: “That man, I tell you what, he’s something else. That’s the most disturbing part. We’ve unfortunately been through this together a few times with other incidents.”
Additional body camera video shows police calling for an extraction team after locating Zapata inside with his injured eye. Fort Worth Police also shared more video of officers rescuing Zapata from inside the Juliet Lane home and taking him to the hospital.
When Zapata was released from the hospital on May 1, fellow officers and team members lined up outside the emergency room to cheer him on.
Police said Zapata, a former Marine and Purple Heart recipient, had only been working on the street as a CRU specialist for about two weeks at the time of the shooting.
The extent of his injury remains unknown, and a second surgery is scheduled this week. Fort Worth PD Family & Wellness started a recovery fundraiser called Help A Hero to raise $5,000 for Edward Zapata. Donations can be made here.
The edited body camera video shared by Fort Worth Police can be viewed on WFAA.com.