Jacob Didinger, a 20-year-old ambulance who was one of five people shot in a fatal rampage in Tucson, died Thursday night of his injuries, officials said.
Police said Didinger and another paramedic were shot and killed on July 18 by Leslie Scarlett, 35, who then pointed his gun at firefighters and neighbors who tried to put out a nearby house fire and killed one.
Didinger, an American Medical Response EMT in Tucson, was hospitalized in critical condition. AMR Southern Arizona announced on Friday afternoon on Facebook that Didinger had died from the injuries that day.
Tucson police said Scarlett stopped an ambulance and shot Dindinger, the driver of the vehicle, in the head and shot a paramedic in the passenger seat in the chest and arm while responding to a medical emergency at Quincie Douglas Park.
Police said Scarlett then drove to a nearby house fire and shot firefighters and neighbors trying to put out the fire in the area of South Kino Parkway and East 36th Street.
A firefighter was shot in the arm and a bullet grazed a neighbor’s head, officials said. Another neighbor, identified as 44-year-old Cory Saunders, was fatally shot in the head in front of his 11-year-old son and died on the scene. The firefighter was in good shape and a neighbor did not need medical care.
A total of two rescue workers, a firefighter and two neighbors, one of whom died on the scene, were shot.
A police officer who responded to the scene, Danny Leon, an 8-year-old police veteran with the Tucson Police Department, shot and killed Scarlett after police said he rammed his SUV into Leon’s vehicle and opened fire. Scarlett died of his injuries on July 21, police said. Leon was not injured.
Didinger is known as selfless, determined and friendly
AMR said their thoughts were with him and his family as they “honor his life and ministry”.
“His influence in the munity as well as in the wider EMS community and in our GMR family will be forever remembered,” said AMR’s statement on Facebook. “Take a rest, Jacob, we’ll take it from here.”
The ambulance company said it was working with Didinger’s family to “make sure” they could help in any way they could.
In honor of Dindinger and his services, Governor Doug Ducey issued a statement ordering the flags of all state buildings to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday.
“Jacob Didinger was a brave, selfless member of our community whose life was taken far too soon,” Ducey said in the statement. “Arizona’s deepest prayers are with Jacob’s family, loved ones, first responders, and everyone involved in the senseless, violent act that has taken place in his work to protect other people.”
The statement also stated that Didinger graduated from Canyon Del Oro High School in 2019 before starting as an EMT in March this year. Didinger also attended Pima Community College and, according to the college, received his EMT certificate in July 2020.
A GoFundMe created to support Dindinger and his family said he was parked waiting to help with a medical call and was then shot in the arm, chest, neck and head by Scarlett. Dindinger’s partner, who was also shot twice, provided Dindinger’s help, GoFundMe said.
During a vigil for the victims of the shooting on July 21, a relative of Didinger said he had been shot four times and was “fighting for his life”.
“He’s one of the most beautiful people you could ever meet in your life,” said Andy Didinger, Jacob’s uncle, at the vigil. “Jake is the kindest soul you will ever know, the nicest person I have ever met.”
Didinger was a son, brother, grandson, cousin and friend, loved sports and was a “natural athlete” according to the GoFundMe page.
“He has a pure heart and a smile that never goes unnoticed as it lights up every room he enters,” it says on the page. “His sharp wit and sense of humor make people laugh again and again. Jake treats everyone with respect and kindness, no matter who they are or what their past entails.”
The site also said that those who met Didinger know the “selflessness and determination he carries with him every day”. His goal was to become a firefighter like his older brother, it says on the page.
“It was a pleasure and a blessing to see him grow into the man he is. We are so proud that he was able to be the enrichment for his community, which he always wanted to be ”, it says on the page.
AMR Southern Arizona said on Facebook it has no information about Didinger’s funeral services but will provide it if they get more information.
You can reach the reporter at [email protected] or on Twitter at @ Audreyj101.
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