Who is Justin Jones? Dallas ISD police officer undergoes surgery following shooting

DALLAS - The Dallas Independent School District is sharing more information about the police officer who was injured in a shooting on Thursday.

Officer Justin Jones

What we know:

The injured officer was identified as 39-year-old Justin Jones.

Dallas ISD Police Chief Albert Martinez said he’s been with the department for the past 16 years and is currently assigned to White High School.

He was featured in a FOX 4 news story in 2015 while training with the department on verbal tools to defuse confrontations. Jones is the officer wearing the red shirt with glasses in the video below.

Critical Injuries

The backstory:

Jones was shot on Thursday morning while trying to help someone who had been in crisis on the LBJ Freeway near Midway Road.

Police said he brought the suspect to the Sam’s Club parking lot to get him off the freeway and away from danger. That’s when the shooting occurred. 

Jones was shot in the leg. Another officer who responded to the scene shortly afterward applied a life-saving tourniquet.

He was said to be stable after being rushed to Parkland Hospital in critical condition. He was undergoing emergency surgery on Thursday afternoon.

Officers from several different departments were seen arriving at Parkland Hospital, including Dallas PD, Grand Prairie PD, Texas DPS officers, and Dallas ISD officers.

What they're saying:

"We’re thankful. We thank Parkland, the amazing surgeons there at the trauma center that they do what they do," Dallas ISD Police Chief Albert Martinez said during a press conference earlier on Thursday. 

"We also want to thank Dallas police, Texas Department of Public Safety, Dallas Fire Rescue, Dart, ATF and Dallas Sheriff’s Office and the Dallas City Marshal’s office for all their help. We just ask the community to please pray for our officer and his family."