NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The North Kansas City community mourns the death of a police officer who served the community for just two years.

Officer Daniel Vasquez died after being shot during a traffic stop in North Kansas City Tuesday morning.

“The North Kansas City community’s hearts are with the officer and his family. It’s just a sad day for North Kansas City,” Bryant DeLong, North Kansas City Mayor, said during an afternoon update.

The 32-year-old officer joined the department in 2021. DeLong said it doesn’t matter how long an officer’s been serving a community, no one wants to see an officer get injured or killed.

DeLong became emotional while speaking about Officer Vasquez and the rest of the city’s police officers.

“They’re our public safety officers. They’re why we feel as safe as we do every day. They’re why we feel safe to sleep at night. We know they’re out there protecting us,” DeLong said.

The mayor said he wanted the police department, and Vasquez’s family to know the community will do everything possible to support them during this tragic time.

“The whole NKC community stands behind our police force. We’ll be here for the family, we’ll be here for all of our other employees, so please, if you need anything, reach out,” DeLong said.

The Fraternal Order of Police is working to set up a fund benefiting Vasquez’s family. The police department said it wanted one fund people can donate to and avoid the possibility of fake funds set up by scammers.

North Kansas City police said the suspect wanted for shooting Vasquez surrendered to officers in the Northland. The suspect’s name has not been released.