Dallas Police Officer Wounded in Home Depot Shooting ‘not Out of the Woods Yet'

The Dallas police officer wounded last month in a shooting at a Lake Highlands Home Depot is improving but still has a long road ahead to recovery, her father said. Officer Crystal Almeida, 26, was critically wounded in the April 24 shooting while responding to a call to help an off-duty officer who had detained a man at the store . She was placed in a medically induced coma last week after having surgery to remove excess fluids and bullet fragments from her brain, her father Manuel Almeida told the El Paso Times. She regained consciousness later in the week"She is doing a lot better, but we still have a long way to go," Manuel Almeida said. "She regained consciousness, she is starting to walk around. She still can't speak much, but she is slowly starting to talk. She can't talk much right now. She has said very, very little."Her partner Rogelio Santander and Home Depot loss-prevention officer Scott Painter were also shot. Santander died the next day of his injuries and was buried Tuesday. Painter was critically wounded and also remains hospitalized at Texas Health Presbyterian of Dallas. Almeida, an El Paso native, is expected to undergo a reconstructive surgery to repair the bone structure on the left side of her face next week, her father said.   Continue reading...