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Law enforcement, supporters line procession route to honor slain DeKalb officer

Officer Edgar Flores' body left the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office around 10 a.m. to go to the Whitfield Funeral Home in Baldwin.

The DeKalb County police officer shot and killed in the line of duty Thursday made his final trip back home, Saturday.

Law enforcement officers escorted 24-year-old Officer Edgar Flores' body to Baldwin in Habersham County Saturday morning.

His body left the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office around 10 a.m. to make the journey to Whitfield Funeral Home. Along the way, local agencies and officers lined the procession route as it traveled along I-85, to I-985 north and then to Highway 365 in Habersham County.

Even in the rain, it didn't stop people like Kelli Brookshire and her son, Conner, to wait with others along Highway 365 to pay their respects.

"We were going to be here rain or shine," she said. "To see this many people show up it shows that we live in a good town."

"This was someone from our hometown. A very good person. A good guy," she said."

Brookshire said her son wants to go into law enforcement.

‘I’ll support him 100 percent," she said. "We need good law enforcement. I know he’d made a good one."

RELATED: 'He died a hero': DeKalb County Police officer killed after traffic stop identified

It was around 5 p.m. Thursday when Flores conducted a traffic stop on Candler Road. According to police, the driver took off on foot and the officer followed him into a parking lot of a Piggly Wiggly grocery store.  

DeKalb Police Chief James Conroy said during the foot pursuit, the suspect allegedly shot Flores who was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries.  More officers responded to the Candler-McAfee neighborhood to look for the suspect. 

One, a K9 officer, was shot and taken to the hospital. After he shot the K9, Conroy said the officers then shot the suspect several times. He was taken the hospital where he died. 

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the suspect as 33-year-old Brandon Taylor, of Decatur, Georgia.

RELATED: Saturday procession for slain DeKalb officer announced

Flores was going to turn 25 years old in a few days, said Chief Conroy, who described him as a man with a bright future ahead of him. 

Support from around the nation has been pouring in for Flores' family and the police department.  The GBI is still investigating. 

RELATED: What we know about the shooting that killed a DeKalb police officer and critically injured a K9

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