The Dallas Police Department (DPD) is in mourning this weekend after one of its own was tragically killed in what the police chief has described as an “execution.”
Officer Darron Burks, a rookie who had recently left his job as a high school math teacher and coach to join the DPD, was identified as the officer killed in the line of duty late Thursday night. A vigil for Burks was held on Friday night.
According to Dallas Police Chief Edgardo “Eddie” Garcia, the suspect, Corey Cobb Bey, approached Burks in his squad car on Thursday night in a parking lot along Ledbetter Drive. Cobb Bey filmed the encounter before fatally shooting Burks with a pistol.
Dispatch sent two officers to Burks' location after hearing an unusual transmission on the radio.
Senior Corporal Jamie Farmer was the first to arrive and was shot at by the suspect. Farmer returned fire but was hit in the leg. Senior Corporal Karissa David then arrived, and the suspect shot at her as well – she returned fire but was shot in the face during the exchange.
Cobb Bey fled the scene after a sergeant arrived.
He was later shot and killed by six officers in the nearby suburb of Lewisville on the expressway on I-35. Cobb Bey got out of his vehicle with a shotgun in hand and approached the police who were following him. Two shotguns were recovered.
At the Ledbetter scene, officers found a .22 caliber handgun and the 9mm handgun believed to have been used by the suspect.
Earlier this month, Cobb Bey had filmed himself approaching officers in an unmarked unit, questioning why they were in his neighborhood. All of his weapons were purchased legally, according to DPD.
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