The Dallas Police Department provided an emotional update after Officer Darron Burks was shot and killed, saying that the former high school teacher was “executed” while in the line of duty.
In a press conference Friday, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said that the department had lost a “brother” and a “hero” following the shooting.
“As a department and as a family, we are devastated,” Garcia said. “Last night we lost a brother, a hero. Officer Darron Burks was a son, a nephew, a friend to many, and he was senselessly and tragically murdered in the line of duty.”
The shooting, which happened around 10 p.m. Thursday night near the Oak Cliff Community Center, killed Burks and wounded two other officers.
The suspected gunman, identified as 30-year-old Corey Cobb-Bey, was killed in a shootout with police after a highway chase.
“We came close to losing other officers,” Garcia said. “Officers who put their lives on the line to protect their brother, and it is by the grace of God that they are still with us today.”
The chief of police said that the officers were “targeted” by Cobb-Bey.
“Our officers were targeted by nothing more than the uniforms that they wear and for the brave and honorable job that they do,” he said. “I want to be clear here, the word ambush has been thrown around in the last 24 hours. That is not what happened here. Officer Burks was executed.”
Garcia revealed that Cobb-Bey approached Burks and struck up a conversation, while recording the encounter on a cellphone, before pulling out a handgun and opening fire.
Police said that they have no evidence that Burks and Cobb-Bey knew each other.
“Cobb-Bey approached Burks and talked with him briefly at the driver’s side of the window as he recorded the encounter with a cellphone,” he said. “The suspect then pulled out a handgun and executed Officer Burks as he sat in his vehicle.”
Police said they got a 911 call about an officer in distress. Responding officers found Burks in his marked patrol vehicle critically injured.
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At 10:11 p.m., Senior Corporal Jamie Farmer pulled into the parking lot after responding to a call for backup. Farmer was met with gunfire from Cobb-Bey. When Farmer returned fire, Cobb-Bey grabbed the shotgun and fired at Farmer, hitting him in the leg.
A minute later, Senior Corporal Karissa David arrived on the scene.
The Cobb-Bey ran toward David, shooting at her multiple times while she exited her vehicle.
David was shot in the face, according to police.
The officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect, and two additional officers were shot.
The suspect was shot and killed at the end of a high-speed police chase on Interstate 35 from Dallas to Lewisville.
Burks was a former high school math teacher at the Texas Can Academy’s Pleasant Grove Campus, whose passion for helping his community led him to enroll in the police academy, FOX 4 reported, citing sources.
“Last year, Officer Burks bravely decided to leave the field of education to serve our city as a member of the Dallas Police Department. His commitment to serving others, both as a teacher and as a police officer, exemplified his dedication to making a positive impact on the lives of those around him,” wrote Tina Shaw, the principal at Texas Can Academy’s Pleasant Grove Campus.
One former student, Adrian Coleman, said that Burks mentored troubled youths.
“As a troubled youth, he made sure to instill knowledge and provide me with the tools I needed to graduate, to be a man out here in this world,” Coleman told the local outlet. “I am very thankful for him and the time he spent with me.”
A rookie police officer, Burks first entered the Dallas Police Academy last year.