A North Texas police department has identified the 29-year-old officer who was fatally wounded in a shootout with a suspect Tuesday near an elementary school.
Euless Police Chief Mike Brown identified the fallen officer as David S. Hofer, who died during surgery at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Grapevine. [[370698611,C]]
The shooting happened just before 3 p.m. at J.A. Carr Park in the 500 block of Simmons Drive after several officers responded to a "shots fired" call in the area.
"Upon arrival, officers encountered a suspect with an unknown weapon," Brown said. "The suspect immediately fired upon officers, striking one of them. Officers returned fire, striking the suspect."
Hofer was rushed to Baylor Grapevine, where he was pronounced deceased, Brown announced just after 5 p.m. The second person who was shot was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, where he died. The person's identity has not yet been released.
Additional details surrounding the incident are unknown at this time.
Dozens of police cars from multiple North Texas agencies accompanied the officer's hearse back to Euless Tuesday evening, where a makeshift memorial from members of the community includes flowers, balloons, posters and cards.
Hofer lived in Plano and began serving in the Euless Police Department in January 2014 after previously working with the New York Police Department, Brown said. Survivors include his fiance, parents, sister and brother.
"This agency and community will not forget David's servant heart and his dry wit," Brown said.
Hofer graduated from Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn and earned a bachelor's degree from New York University in 2008.
The New York Police Department's Ninth Precinct tweeted a message Tuesday saying, "There are no words to describe the heartbreak of the loss of PO David Hofer who was proud #NYPD before going to TX."
Sources tell NBC 5 Hofer worked two different sections of Manhattan with the NYPD for about five years before moving for his new job in Texas.
A former NYPD sergeant who worked with Hofer in Midtown Manhattan in one of his early assignments with department described Hofer as a good guy with a big future. Another NYPD officer said some of the folks who knew Hofer well were simply too upset to talk about it right now.
NYPD officials said grief counselors will be at the Ninth Precinct in the East Village in Manhattan Wednesday, where Hofer's death has shaken officers just as it has in North Texas.
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Tuesday night one New York group for fallen officers posted a picture of Hofer with the message simply, "RIP brother."
This is the second time a Euless police officer has been killed in the line of duty in the city's history. The other officer who died was Michael Williamson, who was killed by a drunken driver in 1982, according to the city website.
NBC 5's Astrid Martinez, Jeff Smith and Scott Friedman contributed to this report.
