According to Dallas Police Department Chief Eddie Garcia, a man acted in a targeted attack against police in which he “executed” Officer Darron Burks and wounded two other officers. Burks was a rookie police officer who had first entered the Dallas Police Academy last year. Before this, he was a high school math teacher at the Texas Can Academy’s Pleasant Grove Campus. His passion for helping his community led him to enroll in the police academy.
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In a press conference on Friday (August 30), Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia shared updates on a shooting that occurred around 10 p.m. on Thursday (August 29) near the Oak Cliff Community Center. The suspected gunman, identified as 30-year-old Corey Cobb-Bey, was killed in a shootout with police after a highway chase.
Garcia told reporters, “As a department and as a family, we are devastated. Last night we lost a brother, a hero. Officer Darron Burks was a son, a nephew, and a friend to many, and he was senselessly and tragically murdered in the line of duty. We came close to losing other officers. 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.”
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The Dallas Police Department Chief said Burks was targeted and executed, stating, “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. 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.”
The Dallas Police Chief continued to reveal that Cobb-Bey approached Officer Burks and struck up a conversation. He explained, “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. The suspect then pulled out a handgun and executed Officer Burks as he sat in his vehicle.” The Chief said that they have no evidence connecting the two parties.
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Garcia said that at 10:11 p.m., Senior Corporal Jamie Farmer arrived at the scene upon responding to a call for backup. On arrival, he was met with gunfire from Cobb-Bey. Upon returning fire, the gunman grabbed a shotgun and fired at Officer Farmer, striking him in the leg.
One minute later, Senior Corporal Karissa David arrived at the scene and was also met with gunfire on arrival. Cobb-Bey ran towards her, firing multiple times as she exited her vehicle and striking her in the face. The shootout led to a high-speed police chase on Interstate 35 from Dallas to Lewisville, with the suspect being shot and killed by police.
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