Father of Dallas shooting victim opens up about heartache and calls for an end to violence

The father of Dallas shooting victim Police Officer Patrick Zamarripa has spoken out about his heartbreak at hearing about his son's death and called for an end to violence.

Rick Zamarripa said he was "very angry" about his son killing at last week's ambush orchestrated by suspect Micah Johnson.

"I couldn't believed it," Mr Zamarripa told ITV News. "He made three tours of Iraq - didn't come back home with a scratch, made it home alive. And then he dies here in his homeland, one of his own people kills him."

• Video report by ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore

Despite his anguish at his son's death, Mr Zamarripa called for unity and an end to violence.

"Instead of going back to the sixties when there were race riots and killings, we need to move forward and help each other out as Americans and brothers and sisters," he said.

Patrick Zamarripa served in the Dallas Police Department for six years after serving in Iraq.

The 32-year-old father was among five police officers who died in the Dallas shooting at a Black Lives Matter protest on July 7.

Seven officers were wounded before Johnson was killed by authorities in a controlled explosion.