Aug. 30 (UPI) — A Dallas Police Department officer was killed in the line of duty late Thursday night and two other officers were shot and injured in what officials called a pre-meditated “execution.”
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia identified the slain officer as Officer Darron Burks, 46, saying he was “senselessly and tragically murdered” by a gunman as he sat in his patrol car outside an apartment building in the city’s Oak Cliff neighborhood.
Two responding officers located the suspect, identified as Corey Cobb-Bey, 30, at about 10 p.m. CDT in the building’s parking lot and were subsequently injured.
“Our officers were targeted for nothing more than the uniform they wear and for the brave and honorable job that they do,” Garcia said at a late afternoon press briefing.
He characterized Burks’ slaying as an “execution” rather than an “ambush,” saying Cobb-Bey approached the squad car, spoke briefly with Burks while recording the conversation on his phone, then pulled out a handgun and shot him through the window.
A dispatcher noticed something was amiss, and when Burks didn’t respond, other officers were sent to the scene. Cobb-Bey then produced a shotgun, which he fired at Senior Corporal Jamie Farmer, hitting him in the leg.
Another officer, Senior Corporal Karissa David, arrived next. Garcia said Cobb-Bey ran at her as she arrived, shooting at her as she exited her vehicle and hitting her in the face. All three officers were taken to a local hospital, where Burks died of his injuries. David remained in critical condition while Farmer was treated and released.
Cobb-Bey then left the scene of the shooting in a vehicle, leading officers on a chase southbound along Interstate 35.
The man eventually stopped in Lewisville, around 25 miles from Dallas. He exited the vehicle while on the highway carrying a shotgun and was shot and killed by police, closing the road for several hours.
Garcia called Cobb-Bey a “coward” and noted that a search of his social media posts determined that the incident was a pre-meditated attack.
A video Cobb-Bey posted on Instagram earlier this week shows him approaching officers sitting in an unmarked white SUV. As he approaches, they partially roll down the passenger window and he asks them if there are any problems.
“No,” one of the officers answered.
“Is there any criminal activity that we need to be aware about?” Cobb-Bey asks.
“All good man,” the officer responds, to which Cobb-Bey says, “OK, thank you,” and then walks away.
Cobb-Bey’s father, Emery Cobb, told WFAA-TV his son had been acting strangely in recent days, talking about demons and being “followed” by police.