Dallas police officer killed in shooting: Here’s what we know

A shooting in southeast Oak Cliff left a Dallas police officer dead and two others injured Thursday night.
“Our officers were targeted by this coward,” Dallas police Chief Eddie García said during an emotional news conference on Friday afternoon.
Here’s what we know.
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The shooting occurred outside a community center called For Oak Cliff in the 900 block of East Ledbetter Drive. Officer Darron Burks stopped there during a break between assignments, García told reporters during the news conference.
Corey Cobb-Bey, whom police have since identified as the shooter, had parked his white Buick nearby a few minutes before, García said. Cobb-Bey walked up to Burks’ marked police vehicle, spoke with him briefly through the driver’s side window, then pulled out a gun and shot him, García said.
A police dispatcher noticed an unusual transmission from Burks’ radio, and when the dispatcher couldn’t reach him, police used GPS to locate Burks and sent officers to investigate.
Senior Cpls. Jamie Farmer and Karissa David responded within 10 minutes, and Cobb-Bey fired on them with a shotgun, García said. Farmer, who was hit in the leg, returned fire and ran. David was shot in the face as she exited her vehicle but also returned fire, the chief said.
Dozens more police units responded to the assist officer call, according to an online police call log.
The wounded officers were taken to hospitals. Other officers chased the suspect.
The suspect drove toward Lewisville and was pursued by Dallas police officers north on Interstate 35E. Just north of State Highway 121 Business about 10:40 p.m., according to authorities, the suspect got out of his car with a long gun and multiple Dallas police officers fired on him, killing him.
With the highway shut down, police officials searched the empty white Buick that appeared to have shattered back windows and a flat back tire. Dozens of police vehicles lined the closed-off highway. A body lay under a sheet in the street.
Police recovered two shotguns at the Lewisville site and two handguns at the Dallas shooting scene, which Cobb-Bey had legally obtained, García said Friday.
Burks was transported to Methodist Dallas Medical Center. At about 1:15 a.m., dozens of Dallas police officers waited quietly outside the emergency room entrance. Police squad cars lined the blocks leading up to the hospital, their emergency lights flashing.
At about 3:15 a.m., Dallas police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman announced that the officer, not yet publicly identified, had died.
“Our department is hurting,” Lowman said in the early hours Friday. “We ask tonight and this morning for the thoughts and prayers of our city, for not only those who are recovering in the hospital, but for our fallen, for their family and for their loved ones, and for us as a department as well.”
In a post on X early Friday, García said “No words.” He attached a photo of a Dallas police badge above the city of Dallas with a dark blue line across the center.
Flags at all city facilities will be flown at half-staff, according to a statement from Dallas police.
Burks, 46, was fatally wounded in the gunfire, his mother, Cherie Jeffrey, told The Dallas Morning News when reached by phone Friday morning. Jeffrey said she was notified by officers at her home. Burks was a former school teacher who’d just completed police training.
A candlelight vigil was held to honor Burks at For Oak Cliff on Friday evening, and continued at Winners Smokehouse in Cedar Hill.
Burks attended Paul Quinn College and pledged Omega Psi Phi. He worked at Texans Can Academies before joining the force, according to Apryl Washington Goree, a former coworker at the charter school.
“He loved helping kids, but he wanted to help the community versus just the classroom,” Washington Goree said. “He wanted to help on a broader spectrum.”
Dallas police have released few details about the wounded officers. Farmer was shot in the leg, and was treated and released from the hospital on Friday.
David was shot in the face and is in critical condition but listed as stable, García said, adding she faces a long recovery.
“We are devastated,” García said. “The investigation determined last night was premeditated, again for no other reason than the uniform we wear.”
Officer Rogelio Santander Jr., who died after he was shot responding to a shoplifting call at a Lake Highlands hardware store in April 2018, was the last officer killed by gunfire before this week. The gunman later pleaded guilty to capital murder and was sentenced to life without parole
Ninety-three Dallas police officers have died in the line of duty since 1892, according to police website.
García identified 30-year-old Cobb-Bey as the shooter at his news conference on Friday.
LaDarrian Brooks, 39, who identified himself as Cobb-Bey’s older brother, said Cobb-Bey was shot and killed Thursday and confirmed he was the suspect in this case.
“The whole family is floored,” Brooks told The News. “Our family … we would like to deeply, deeply apologize to the families that were involved in this situation because it’s a tragic, tragic situation.”
In social media posts, Cobb-Bey repeatedly mentions the “end times” and refers to himself as a “Moor,” a reference to the Moorish Science Temple of America.
The movement is based on the premise that African Americans are descendants of the Moabites originating from the Moroccan Empire. The religion incorporates Islamic teachings with teachings of personal transformation and racial pride.
The Anti-Defamation League has noted some overlap between the Moorish Science Temple and Sovereign Citizens, which the FBI considers an antigovernment extremist group.
The Moorish Science Temple of America Dallas chapter posted a letter to its Facebook page on Friday to “reaffirm our commitment to peace and non-violence.”
In an Aug. 6 Instagram reel, Cobb-Bey displays a 9-millimeter handgun and a semiautomatic 12-gauge shotgun.
A video posted four days ago shows Cobb-Bey approaching officers in a parked, unmarked SUV and asking them if there’s “any problem.”
Cobb-Bey quotes both the Holy Koran of the Moorish Temple and the New International Version of the Bible in the caption.
Cobb-Bey worked as a commercial truck driver, according to posts on his TikTok.
A patrol car was parked in front of the department’s south central station Friday morning. On its hood lay one bouquet of white roses and another of white lilies.
“Dallas has lost a hero,” Mayor Eric Johnson wrote in a statement Friday. “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.”
“I want to express my deepest condolences and full support to the family of our fallen Dallas Police Officer,” Dallas Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert wrote in a statement Friday. “We cannot take for granted how precious life is and how courageous our first responders are to selflessly take the oath to protect and to serve.”
From the parking lot of For Oak Cliff Friday morning, Dallas City Council member Carolyn King Arnold told The News she was “devastated” by the news of the shooting.
“Really no words can describe an officer being murdered like this,” she said. “It just leaves you speechless.”
Arnold said she was relieved to hear the For Oak Cliff center was able to share surveillance video with Dallas police to assist in their investigation.