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Officer Darron Burks, 46, was fatally shot and two others were wounded in a shooting in southeast Oak Cliff Thursday night.
Burks, 46 was shot outside the For Oak Cliff community center, his mother, Cherie Jeffrey, told The Dallas Morning News Friday morning. Burks was a former school teacher who’d just completed police training.
More than 20 units responded about 10:10 p.m. to an assist officer call in the 900 block of East Ledbetter Drive, near South Marsalis Avenue, according to an online police call log.
Dallas police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman said responding officers found an officer who’d been shot in his marked patrol vehicle. Officers exchanged gunfire with a suspect, and two other officers were shot.
The officers were taken to hospitals, where Burks died, one officer is in critical condition and the other is listed as stable, Lowman said.
The suspect drove away and was pursued by Dallas police officers to Lewisville, where the suspect exited a vehicle with a long gun, Lowman said. Dallas officers fired, killing him.
“I’m devastated to learn that three officers were shot, and one was killed, in the line of duty last night in our city,” District 1 representative Chad West said. “It is a tragic reminder of the dangerous work our brave officers do every day and night to keep us safe. I want to thank our partners at Methodist Hospital Dallas for doing everything they could to try to save our lost hero.”
Police officials said an “extensive investigation is underway” at For Oak Cliff, the community center where the shooting occurred.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson released a statement Friday morning: “Dallas has lost a hero. We all grieve with the officer’s family today, and we pray for a full and swift recovery for the two officers who were wounded.
“This is devastating. In Dallas, we put public safety first. We stand up to violent criminals. We ask our police officers to do dangerous work so the rest of us can sleep peacefully. These dedicated public servants do so with grace, honor, respect, humility and extraordinary courage. And this attack on three of our protectors is nothing short of an attack on our city, our families, and our way of life. We must continue their work to stop violence in our communities. We must never forget their sacrifice. And we must take the time to come together and lift each other up as we mourn our fallen.”
