Cuba Gooding Jr. cried after hearing that he’d met Patrick Zamarripa, one of the five police officers who was shot and killed in Dallas on Thursday, July 7.
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story star, 48, briefly spoke to TMZ on Friday, July 8, about his reaction to the tragic news.
“I cried today when I heard that,” Gooding said when asked of his response to Zamarripa’s death, as he clasped and kissed his hands in prayer.
As Us Weekly previously reported, the 32-year-old police officer shared the rare photo op on his Twitter account in February. In the pic, Zamarripa and his partner are all smiles as they pose for a selfie with Gooding.
“The great @cubagoodingjr,” Zamarripa captioned the pic. “Thanx for taking the pic with my partner and I. Hope your stay in #Dallas was great sir!”
Zamarripa was the second slain officer identified in the Dallas shooting, which was carried out by 25-year-old lone sniper Micah Xavier Johnson.
According to The Washington Post, the police officer served three tours in Iraq prior to joining the Dallas Police Department five years ago.
“I’ve been around the military for 30 years,” Zamarripa’s pal Greg Wise told the outlet on Friday. “I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. A few stand out as being some of the good ones. He did.”