MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. — The Mount Holly community and first responders from all around paid their respects for Officer Tyler Herndon, who was killed Friday in the line of duty.

Herndon was given full police honors Tuesday morning, including a procession from Shelby to Kings Mountain. It was A motorcade memorial fit for a hero in blue.

Chris Hullender and Herndon met in preschool and have been best friends since.

“Growing old together was something that I think we assumed was inevitable for us,” Hullender said.

He said no one suspected a friendship would end after Herndon, 25, was shot and killed.

Related coverage:

• Suspect in Mount Holly police officer’s slaying indicted by grand jury
• PHOTOS of Mount Holly Police Officer Tyler Herndon
• Forever remembered: Mount Holly police officer killed in line of duty laid to rest

“His presence, his personality, just commanded your attention,” Hullender said. “He was the life of the party.”

Hullender said Herndon was on a relentless pursuit of justice.

“It was never an option for him as long as I’ve known him,” Hullender said. “He was going to become an officer.”

Herndon was sworn in as an officer last year with the Mount Holly Police Department.

He gained a reputation for helping stranded drivers and his kindness as a peace officer.

He raved about his new job to his best friend.

“How impactful it was for him in ways he didn’t initially realize,” Hullender said.

Last week, the friends who lived hours apart had one of their typical phone conversations for hours.

On Friday, Hullender learned his childhood friend answered his last call on his dream job. Herndon responded to a breaking-and-entering call at an arcade when investigators said Joshua Funk shot and killed him.

He was killed two days before his 26th birthday.

His friends and sister gathered around a campfire Sunday night with a birthday cake for the life of the party still with them in spirit.

“One day I’m going to be able to tell my kids about a guy named Tyler, Tyler Arbury Herndon, who was a friend and a hero,” Hullender said.

Herndon was laid to rest Tuesday with full honors.

Forever remembered: Mount Holly police officer killed in line of duty laid to rest

Cox Media Group