EL PASO COUNTY — On Tuesday, the El Paso County Coroner confirmed that Alex Paz, 26-years-old, was one of two victims murdered during an officer involved shooting on Sunday evening.
When her brother, Jonathan Massie who lives in Oregon, heard the news early the next morning he thought it might have been a "sick joke".
Massie says he and his sister were very close and spoke every few days.
"She was calling in to show me her... We just call it her farm, because she had so many different animals."
Paz was killed during the same officer involved shooting that took the life of Deputy Andrew Peery with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Massie says his sister was building a life in El Paso County in the home she had purchased out in Security-Widefield. He says Paz was working to become a veterinarian technician.
"She was so gung-ho for her degree to be able to be a vet and she was being so successful in that field."
Paz's husband, the suspect in the shooting, also died reportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Court documents obtained by News5 reveal Paz and her husband were working towards getting a divorce.
At 26-years-old, Paz had yet to complete her vet degree or have children, like her brother says she always wanted.
"She was just a real person, she would put just about anything she was doing down and try to help you fix what was going on... She was about as genuine of a person as you will ever meet."
Massie says their family plans to bring Paz's body back to Oregon, where they are from, and lay her to rest beside her grandfather.
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