Vigil held at fallen Dallas officer’s college alma mater
DALLAS - A vigil was held Wednesday at the alma mater of the Dallas police officer who was murdered in the line of duty last week.
Officer Darron Burks graduated from Paul Quinn College in 2007.
Burks was a retired school teacher turned rookie officer. He was sitting in his squad car in Oak Cliff last week when a suspect shot him at extremely close range.
The chapel on the campus of Paul Quinn College hosted Burks’ fraternity members, friends and loved ones.
First responders took time to reflect.
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Some knew Burks before he took the oath to protect and serve.
Edward Knox is Burks’ fraternity brother.
In 2007, Burks graduated from Paul Quinn College and became a teacher. But Knox recalls the moment years later when Burks told him he was going to become a police officer.
"And he said God had a calling for him," Knox recalled. "I said, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘God is calling me to do something else than teach.’ So I said, ‘You have to follow God’s word. Wherever he wants you to go, you need to go.’ And he said, ‘That’s what I’m going to do.’"
"He was selfless in the classroom. He was selfless in the community, and then he chose a career where he could give back in a completely different way," said Paul Quinn College President Michael Sorrell.
Darron Burks
Thursday night will mark one week since Officer Burks was shot and killed while sitting in his patrol car.
Police called it a premeditated ambush attack by 30-year-old Corey Cobb-Bey, who also wounded two other officers before he was killed by police.
Before this Saturday’s funeral, Wednesday’s vigil was a more intimate opportunity for ones to celebrate the life of Burks.
Public visitations for Officer Burks will be held on Friday at 7 p.m. and on Saturday at 9 a.m. Watermark Church in Dallas.
A celebration of life service is set for 11 a.m. at the same church.
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Funeral services set for fallen Dallas Officer Darron Burks
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