Over 11k attend Harris County Sheriff Deputy Darren Goforth's funeral in Houston

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Thousands gathered at Second Baptist Church in Houston on Friday for funeral of slain Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth
Texas Governor Greg Abbott asked officers on patrol around state to turn on their vehicles' flashing lights for one minute as services began
Goforth, 47, was gunned down a week ago at a suburban Houston convenience store while fueling his car
Shannon Miles is currently facing charges of capital murder in Goforth's death
Ceremony on Friday included a 21-gun salute, a procession with a riderless horse and a police helicopter flyover

Published: 16:01 EST, 4 September 2015 | Updated: 23:59 EST, 4 September 2015

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Police from around the nation were among 11,000 people who gathered at a Houston church for the funeral of slain Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott asked officers on patrol around the state turn on their vehicles' flashing lights for a minute as services began Friday morning.

Goforth was gunned down a week ago at a suburban Houston convenience store while fueling his patrol car.

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Kathleen Goforth pictured during the funeral service for her husband Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth at Second Baptist Church on Friday morning. Her husband was killed a week ago while filling his patrol car with gasoline at a suburban Houston convenience store

The ceremony was attended by more than 10,000 law enforcement officers from Texas and across the United States. Above the Harris County Sheriff's Department carries in the casket of Goforth towards Second Baptist Church

Goforth, 47, was fatally shot on August 28th at a Houston-area gas station. Policemen are pictured as they arrive at the funeral for Harris County Deputy Goforth on Friday

Members of the Corpus Christi Police Department in Corpus Christi, Texas gathered with members from the community for a moment of silence and prayer outside the department

'We come to this place with heavy hearts, and have questions we don't really understand,' Lt. Don Savell, the chaplain for the sheriff's department, said as the ceremony at Second Baptist Church began.

'We gather to share the grief we all feel and perhaps to find the strength to bear our sorrow and to look for seeds of hope.'

Some officers stood outside and watched the service on big-screen televisions, while other spectators gathered outside the suburban convenience store where Goforth was killed to view the funeral on screens set up there.

Flowers, balloons, posters and written messages in memory of Goforth still surround the pump where he was shot.

Bagpipes played Amazing Grace and an honor guard somberly saluted Goforth's flag-draped casket, then slowly marched away in formation as the service began.

'Darren Goforth was one of the good guys, one that made a difference,' Sheriff Ron Hickman said during the funeral.

He said the deputy's life was taken 'senselessly and in an act of cowardice' the night of August 28 but that he and others 'will answer calls in Darren's honor.'

Deputies found Goforth face down in a pool of blood near his patrol car, dead from multiple gunshot wounds to the back and 15 .40-caliber shell casings around him. His wife shown right during the funeral on Friday morning

Shannon Miles, pictured, has been charged with capital murder in the death of Goforth

Area officers lined their cars with emergency lights flashing as a remembrance to fallen Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Goforth

Texas Governor Greg Abbott asked Texas law enforcement officers turn on their red and blue emergency lights for one-minute at 11am to honor Goforth. Policemen are seen standing at Goforth's funeral on Friday

Above Harris County Sheriff's Department prepares to fold an American flag during the funeral service for Goforth

Deputies found Goforth face down in a pool of blood near his patrol car, dead from multiple gunshot wounds to the back and 15 .40-caliber shell casings around him, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said in court.

Anderson said surveillance video showed a black male shooting Goforth in the back of the head and then standing over him and firing more shots, unloading the weapon into the deputy.

Deputies found a loaded .40-caliber gun in Shannon Miles' garage and the same brand of ammunition as the casings found at the gas station, Anderson said.

Forensic tests determined the gun was the one fired at the scene, she said.

A witness identified 30-year-old Miles in a lineup as the shooter, Anderson said.

Miles, who has a history of mental illness and arrests, is charged in the death of the 47-year-old veteran officer. The motive remains unknown.

The killing brought out strong emotions in the area's law enforcement community, with Hickman suggesting last weekend that it could have been influenced by heightened national tension over the treatment of African-Americans by police.

Goforth was white and the man charged with killing him, Miles, is black.

In a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Hickman said: 'Our system of justice absolutely requires law enforcement to be present to protect our community.

'So at any point where the rhetoric ramps up to the point where the calculated, cold-blooded assassination of police officers happens, this rhetoric has gotten out of control.

'We've heard black lives matter, all lives matter - well, cops' lives matter too. Why don't we just drop the qualifier and say 'lives matter'.'

Marcy Duran, from left to right, Corpus Christi Police Officers Cristhian Salazar, Krystal Rodriguez and Daniella Ortiz, pray with retired Reverend Anita Valles following a prayer gathering for Goforth, outside the Corpus Christi Police Department

Tyler, Texas, public service officer Jhellyn Monreal takes a moment of silence as she and other officers stand in front their vehicles with lights flashing

Polly Looper and her son Trace stand with a flag, that is symbolic of a fallen officer, outside the funeral for Goforth

The public wore blue and used the hashtag 'BlueHouston' on social media on Friday to honor Goforth and his fellow law enforcement officers, KHOU reported.

Second Baptist Church, which holds some 7,000 people and is one of Houston's largest churches, was filled on Friday.

The ceremony included a 21-gun salute, a procession with a riderless horse and a police helicopter flyover.

Outside the church following the service, which lasted nearly two hours, Hickman presented the folded flag from the casket to Goforth's wife, Kathleen.

A line of patrol cars formed a large cross in the parking lot, and two Houston fire trucks with ladders extended formed an arch with a flag extended at the top.

People lined streets as the funeral procession drove away. A private burial was planned at a cemetery.

Officers in Texas also held moments of silence at their various departments around the time of the funeral.

The Rev. Ed Young, pastor at Second Baptist, told those attending Friday's funeral that he fears evil has reached an 'almost epidemic stage' with attacks on those who 'wear the blue' - a reference to the police uniform.

But he said signs of hope have surfaced in the wake of Goforth's death. He said people have been supportive of law enforcement officers and openly prayed for them.

'Things are changing,' Young said. 'Suddenly there's a swelling of people... There will be a new Houston, a new Texas, a new America.

'And you can write it down. We have your back,' he told officers as the funeral crowd stood and applauded.

Goforth's wife is pictured after receiving the American flag during the funeral service of her husband

The public wore blue and used the hashtag 'BlueHouston' on social media on Friday to honor the Goforth and his fellow law enforcement officers

The ceremony included a procession with a riderless horse and a police helicopter flyover. Above people wave flags during the funeral procession

An honor guard offers a twenty-one gun salute following the funeral service for Goforth

Second Baptist Church, which holds some 7,000 people and is one of Houston's largest churches, was filled on Friday during Goforth's funeral. Law enforcement officials file out after the funeral service