Family Mourns Soldier Killed In Grand Prairie Bar Fight
GRAND PRAIRIE (CBSDFW.COM) - A Grand Prairie family says they are grieving the loss of their son following a deadly bar fight over the weekend.
Orlando Salazar, 28, was an Army serviceman in the 82nd Airborne Division. Salazar was set to make a duty station change from Fort Bragg to Fort Hood in a few weeks and was home visiting family.
Salazar was with friends and family at El Torro Loco Saturday night when a fight broke out.
Police say Salazar was knocked to the ground and his head hit the concrete floor. Salazar's family said some men continued to kick him while he was knocked out.
Police are not saying what started the fight or who threw the first punch, but they said they are looking for multiple Hispanic men who fled the area.
Officers have arrested one man. They're holding 27-year-old Jose Abel Navarro, seen above, on $150,000 bail.
"It makes me angry because my son served his country in Iraq, he served his country in Afghanistan," said his father, Caesar Salazar. "He should have been safer here, at home. He survived two tours and he comes home and this happens to him."
Salazar said his son was a proud soldier who served his country well and valued his family.
He said he finds it hard to believe that his son, whom he called "a teddy bear," could ever provoke a fight.
"(The men) who did this didn't just hurt my son; they didn't just hurt my family; they hurt a lot of people out there in this world," Salazar said.
