Slain Tucson EMT Had Been on Job Four Months

The Arizona Daily Star

The 20-year-old EMT shot in the head during a shooting spree on Tucson's south side last month has died.

Jacob "Jake" Dindinger was in the cab of his American Medical Response Inc. rig on July 18 when a man police say had already shot his girlfriend and set the house she was in on fire shot him and his partner as they were parked at Silverlake Park.

The family confirmed Dindinger's death on Friday.

Dindinger had been on the job for four months launching a career that he had hoped would one day lead him to become a firefighter, like his brother.

His death brings to four the number of people who died in the attack, including the gunman, Leslie Scarlett.

The shooting spree started when investigators say Scarlett shot his girlfriend Jennifer Fells, 36, in a house on Irene Vista before setting it on fire. The body of Fells, a mother of three remembered for her huge smile and a laugh that filled a room, was found later.

Scarlett then drove to Silverlake Park where he shot Dindinger as he sat behind the wheel in an AMR rig. His partner, Cassandra Moreno, was also shot.

After shooting the EMTs, Scarlett returned to the fire he set ablaze and opened fire on firefighters and neighbors.

Neighbor Cory Saunders, 44, who had proposed to his fiancée the day before, was shot to death. A fire captain was also shot and another neighbor was grazed in the head by a bullet.

The rampage ended shortly after in a shootout between Scarlett and a police officer. Scarlett was wounded in the gunfight and died days later.