The site where a Dallas police officer was killed less than 24 hours ago is becoming a place of prayer

Darron Burks has reportedly been the choice for Paul Quinn College Omega Psi Phi fraternity chapter chaplain. He would have been the one who stayed with them all Friday, said Thomas Johnson, his college classmate.

“He would have been the one who prayed,” Johnson said. “He would have been the one to show the best of what Omega was.”

Instead, hundreds gathered for a candlelight vigil to honor him Friday at the For Oak Cliff Community Center, where less than 24 hours earlier the 46-year-old was fatally shot in his vehicle his patrol, during a break between duties.

Dallas police said Corey Cobb-Bey, 30, spoke briefly to Burks through the driver’s side window around 10 p.m. Thursday before pulling out a gun and killing him. Two officers who responded to the incident were shot and wounded.

“We are devastated,” Dallas Police Chief Eddie García said at a news conference Friday afternoon. “The investigation established last night was premeditated, again for no other reason than the uniform we wear.”

The late officer was described as a “pure” man who never smoked, drank or swore. He checked in on his best friends daily to see how they were doing and was the first to jump at any function, making everyone laugh along with him.

He was also a former school teacher who had just finished police training, class 392. Several of his colleagues were sitting in the front row at the vigil, making room to save Burks a seat. In its place were a pair of metallic gold combat boots with purple laces—Omega Psi Phi’s signature colors—and a vase of white flowers.

Before enrolling in the police academy, Burks reached out to friend and officer Nikki Andrews. She guided him through recruiting, connected him with HR and anything else he needed.

“Did you ask God?” Andrews asked Burks. “Was it okay?”

“Yes,” he promised. “This is my calling.”

The uniform did its job here on earth, Andrews told the crowd, but God saw something bigger and better for him.

Cpl. Maurice Addison, who oversaw Class 392, said the academy is usually full of young men — men fresh out of college or the military. Burks, on the other hand, was transitioning to law enforcement after 17 years as an educator, so the “militant” style Addison trained with wouldn’t work, he said.

“I couldn’t go there with Burks,” Addison said with a laugh. “First of all, we were about the same age.”

In Burks, Addison said he saw “extreme leadership skills,” skills he used to help Addison shut down younger officers and keep them under control. When Burks gave orders, he said, no one got upset. In fact, they nicknamed him “Papa Burks.”

He conducted his life, his job, everything with love and compassion, Addison said.

“There’s something that says there’s only a few good people left,” Addison said. “Officer Burks is one of them.”

CORRECTION, 9:33 a.m., August 31: An earlier version of this story misspelled Officer Darron Burks’ last name in a later reference.