EULESS - A community in Euless is mourning the loss of a school resource officer who died last night.
Police said Sr. Lt. Richard Wong died of an apparent heart attack while playing racquetball with his father.
Wong mentored students at Trinity High School. Overnight, students gathered to honor his memory. Not even stormy weather could keep students away, with more than 100 gathered carrying candles and saying prayers.
Students described Wong as a caring person, who was there for students on and off-duty. A candlelight vigil took place Monday night and a temporary memorial for the officer was created outside the school, with candles and a large poster with signatures from dozens of students saying goodbye to the officer.
Wong was a 17-year veteran of the Euless Police Department and served as a resource officer at Trinity High School for years. Just last year, Wong was nominated for Euless Police Officer of the Year.
Euless Police Chief Michael Brown said he lost a family member and good friend with Wong's passing. For the last 10 years, Wong and Brown would travel together to watch out-of-town Trinity High School football games.
A Facebook page called "R.I.P. Officer Wong" was set up after his death and has already gathered over 950 likes as people share their memories of the lieutenant on the page.
"Wong was such a good man," wrote Randy Ashford on the wall of the page. "His absence has already left a big void in the universe."
One women who showed up for the vigil said while she graduated from Trinity High over five years ago, she still remembers the impact Wong made on her life and other students.
"Officer Wong was always there in the halls, roaming the hall, 'You need to get back to class; I don't see why you have to go to the bathroom. Just get back to class, get back to class [and] go learn something,'" she said. "He was always trying to better the students here, always. And if we ever had a problem, needed money for lunch or anything, we could always go to him and he would always help."
Senior Sadie Wilkinson said Wong would walk the hallways, always smiling and asking if students were okay. She said he would never talk about himself, preferring to help students instead.
Wilkinson said Wong's passing will bring the close-knit "Trinity Nation" even closer together.
Euless police spent the morning with the officer's family in Haltom City. He left behind a wife and two daughters.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
E-mail cvega@wfaa.com
