In a heart-wrenching interview with the family of slain Dallas Police Officer Sgt. Mike Smith, his young daughter, Caroline, told CBS News that her father shared tragically prophetic last words with her as he prepared to head out for work on July 7.
“He was leaving to go to work, and I was leaving to go to a movie, and he said to me, ‘what if this is the last time you ever kiss me or hug me?’”
CBS News’ Omar Villafranca asked, “Did he always say that?”
“No, that was probably the first time he ever said that.”
She described her last kiss with her father as different.
“It just felt different to me," she said. "I thought something bad was going to happen."
Smith's older daughter Victoria said that she would always give him a hug before he left for duty.
Officers Brent Thompson, Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, and Lorne Ahrens were also killed. Fellow officers described witnessing members of their unit go down, as Micah Xavier Johnson, the gunman, opened fire—targeting white police officers.
Shetamia Taylor was one of the civilians wounded during the attack. She noted how officers came to aid her and her four sons, one of them she saw go down as soon as the shooting began, telling her, “he has a gun, run!”
She thanked them for being heroes, while also expressing sadness for the officers who died. She was hit in the back of the leg. Police, mostly white officers according to her, shielded her and her sons from danger. Taylor said she now has a deeper appreciation for law enforcement.