Hundreds of mourners packed a football stadium at a Michigan high school to honor a deputy sheriff killed in what is being described as an ambush, with supporters vowing "we're not going to leave" his family, according to reports.
Brad Reckling, 30, a married father of three, was fatally shot Saturday while working undercover for the Oakland County Sheriff's Office and investigating reports of a stolen car.
The car stopped and the occupants clambered out and opened fire on the nine-year veteran of the force, the sheriff's office said in a statement, saying that Reckling was "ambushed."
The crowd poured into the stadium at Romeo High School just north of Detroit for Reckling's vigil, many of them wearing T-shirts with black and blue flags in support of the police and passing rows of law-enforcement vehicles from nearby departments that lined the entrance to the stadium, the Detroit News reported.
"It feels good to see the people, to help them, to help the family, to make it through this hard time," a person at the vigil told WXYZ. "They're going to have a lot of support. We're not going to leave them."
Reckling was remembered as a family man who served his community and his church.
"You have to be here for each other," said Kelly Beck, 45, of Berlin Township, who knows Reckling's family, the Detroit News reported. "Brad was a huge part of his family, and it's a huge loss. We have to be there to support each other in the community."
Reckling was the father of three daughters - Alyana, 6; Isabella, 4; and Scarlett, 1 1/2 years old - and his wife, Jacqueline is pregnant.
As of Thursday morning, more than $264,000 has been raised on a GoFundMe page for Reckling.
His funeral is on Friday.
The vigil was arranged by his Romeo High School classmates.
Three people have been arrested in Reckling's killing, the Detroit News reported, and the investigation is continuing.
