The widow of one of the two police officers killed on Sunday joined a paramedic in Burnsville, Minnesota, in paying tribute to the father of her two children, who likely did everything he could to save the “little lives” from the clutches of a gunman.
• Also read: USA: Two police officers and a paramedic killed in an operation
“I think he just had to be the hero. He had to do what he thought was right to protect these little lives, even if it meant putting his own life in danger, and it breaks my heart because he's gone now. But I know he believed he was doing the right thing,” Cindy Elmstrand-Castruita, the wife of police officer Paul Elmstrand, told CBS News.
Heartbroken, the mother of a two-year-old girl and a five-month-old baby spoke to pay tribute to her husband, her lover since high school, who lost his life very early on Sunday after being called to a house, in where an armed man had barricaded himself with members of his family, including seven children aged 2 to 15.
During the operation, the 27-year-old police officer, as well as fellow officer Matthew Ruge and paramedic Adam Finseth, 40, were fatally shot before the suspect, Shannon Gooden, 38, was found dead in the home, according to CBS News.
Another police officer was also reportedly injured, but his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
When she woke up around 7:30 a.m., the young mother received a text message from a friend expressing sympathy for her – which she thought was a mistake.
“I looked out my bedroom window and saw a police car there,” the angry woman reportedly told CBS News. That’s when I knew he was gone.”
She described the officer, who joined the Burnsville Police Department in 2017, as the “most generous, loving and patient” man who would “give up anything to help someone in need, be it family, friends or someone on the street.”
“He was a very level-headed person. He loved his work. He saw terrible things but never complained about them […] “I always think about how much he loved me and our children and what a privilege it is to have had that,” concluded the grieving woman.