Partner of slain Dallas police officer condemns 'disgusting display of hate' that robbed children of their daddy

'My daughter will not have her daddy to walk her down the aisle and my son will not have his 'best buddy' to play football and baseball with'

A photograph posted on a fundraising page for the family of Patrick Zamarripa

(Alex Witt)

The partner of a police officer killed in the Dallas shooting has described how the "horrible tragedy" will impact their young children.

Kristy Villasenor, longtime partner of Patrick Zamarripa, said his killing had left their son and daughter to "endure a lifetime" without their "daddy".

Hours after her partner's murder, Ms Villasenor wrote on Facebook: "We were not done spending our lives together.

"Because of this disgusting display of hate, my daughter will not have her daddy to walk her down the aisle and my son will not have his 'best buddy' to play football and baseball with.

"I finally found the love of my life and now have to endure a lifetime without my lobster."

She also thanked people for their "love and support" after a friend of Mr Zamarripa, Alex Witt, set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the family following the death.

The page has so far raised over $27,800 (more than £21,000) and has been shared 5,000 times.

Mr Witt described Mr Zamarripa, 32, as a mann who had a deep love for his family.

On the page, which recieved 402 donations in 18 hours, Mr Witt wrote: "Patrick Zamarripa was a kind, funny, loving, and heroic human being. He had an ability to make a joke about anything.

"He loved his Cowboys and Rangers.. He loved his country [...] Most of all, he loved all of his family and beautiful girlfriend Kristy along with their two perfect children Lyncoln and Dylan.

"My only hope is his children grow up to see how much love people had for our friend."

Mr Zamarippa had worked for the Dallas Police Department for five years and previously worked for the military police in Iraq, where he had completed three tours.

On Twitter, he had described himself as someone "addicted to the thrill of this job", who loved his "country, Texas, family, God, friends and sports".

He had posted photos showing him enjoying time with his girlfriend and children and others of him working for Dallas Police Department.

Mr Zamarripa was killed along with four other police officers when army veteran Micah Johnson opened fire during a protest against police brutality.

Six officers were also wounded during the stand-off, before Johnson was killed when police detonated a bomb on a robotic device.

The incident has been described as the worst attack against US law enforcement since 9/11.

The other Dallas police officers killed in the stand-off were named as Brent Thompson, Michael Krol, Lorne Ahrens and Michael Smith.