Fort Worth Civilian Specialist Shot in the Eye Returns to Duty Three Months After Line of Duty Injury
Fort Worth celebrated the return of one of its own this week as ,Civilian Response Unit Specialist Edward Zapata came back to work three months after being seriously injured in the line of duty.,
,Zapata was struck by shrapnel from a projectile while responding to a burglary report on April 28, 2026., ,A decorated Marine combat veteran, Zapata had joined the Civilian Response Unit in February. CRU officers are unarmed and their role centers on collecting evidence and writing police reports.,
,While taking the homeowner’s report, suspect Angel Cantu began firing a rifle toward Zapata and the homeowner. Zapata was struck in his left eye by flying shrapnel during the shooting., ,Body camera footage shows Zapata protecting the homeowner from the shooter, escorting her to safety behind the home.,
,39-year-old Angel Cantu got into a shootout with responding officers before being taken into custody on three counts of aggravated assault on a public servant.,
,The ambush was nothing new to the 30-year veteran of the Marine Corps, who had previously been wounded in the line of duty in Iraq., ,A Marine combat veteran, Zapata took shrapnel to the arm on the way to Baghdad in 2003 but said it was nothing that kept him out.,
Zapata underwent multiple surgeries during his recovery, including the removal of his injured eye, and now wears a prosthetic. Despite the severity of those injuries, he said his determination to return to the job never wavered. He credited his Marine background with shaping how he processed the trauma and moved forward.
,He was greeted by colleagues and a surprise party from the North Division upon his return., An organization also presented him with a quilt honoring officers injured in the line of duty. Zapata said the outpouring of support from the department meant a great deal to him and his family.
,Zapata had only been on the job for two weeks at the time of the shooting,, making the incident all the more remarkable. ,No Civilian Response Unit specialist had been injured on the job since the unit launched in 2021.,
,Fort Worth Police say Zapata is already back in the field responding to service calls, just three months after his injury and recovery., He is hoping to receive full medical clearance to return to street-level duties by the end of August.