Community Comes Together To Honor Mount Holly Police Officer Tyler Herndon
Funeral and Memorial Service:
The funeral for Mount Holly Police Officer Tyler Herndon was held on Tuesday, December 15th at First Baptist Church in Kings Mountain. Watch the funeral service below:
Mount Holly Police Officer Tyler Herndon Killed In The Line Of Duty
MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. — A police officer has died following an officer-involved shooting at the Mount Holly Car Wash and Arcade. The officer has been identified as 25-year-old Tyler Herndon.
Officers responded to the business on Beatty Drive just before 4am on December 11th in reference to a breaking and entering, according to a news release. Shots were fired after officers reportedly encountered the armed breaking and entering suspect, according to information posted to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Twitter page.
That suspect has been identified by the Gaston County Magistrate’s office as Joshua Funk. He is currently in the Gaston County Jail under a first degree murder charge.
Several shots were reportedly fired between Funk and officers, according to a news release. Officials say Officer Herndon died several hours after the shooting at a local hospital. Funk suffered minor injuries in the shooting.
North Carolina Highway 273 was closed for an extended period of time while the SBI investigated the shooting.
Officials released the radio traffic from the Mount Holly Police Department as the shooting was unfolding. You can hear the audio here:
(Viewer Discretion Is Advised)
As is standard procedure with any officer-involved shooting, the Internal Affairs Bureau with the Mount Holly Police Department will conduct a separate but parallel investigation to determine whether department policies and procedures were followed during the incident.
Officer Herndon is the first police officer killed in the line of duty in Mount Holly, according to Mount Holly Police Chief Don Roper. Flags were lowered to half-staff at the Mount Holly Police Department and members of the public left flowers at the entrance. Funeral arrangements haven’t been announced at this time.
Community members stopped by the Mount Holly Police station on Friday evening to show support for the fallen officer.
Angie Ewing – Mt Holly Resident :07 “I’m shaken, I’m sad, I’m angry,” said Angie Ewing, a life long Mount Holly resident, “my heart is broken for our community, our officers, officer Herndon’s family.”
She and several others laid flowers and offered their prayers for Herndon’s family. The town mayor had to hold back tears when speaking with reporters.
“Tyler was an incredible young man,” said Mayor Bryan Hough, “we are proud to say that he was a Mount Holly police officer.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
