By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A charity which pays off the mortgages of fallen police officers and firefighters has paid off the mortgage of Luis “Mario” Herrera, a Lincoln, Nebraska police officer shot and killed in the line of duty.
Herrera has ties to northwest Missouri. He grew up in Faucett and graduated from Mid-Buchanan High School. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1993.
Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced it has paid off the mortgage of the family home as part of its 2020 Season of Hope. Tunnel to Towers formed after the September 9th, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. It pays off the mortgages of emergency responders.
Herrera died two weeks after being shot trying to serve an arrest warrant on a 17-year-old in Lincoln. The suspect, Felipe Vazquez, has been charged with murder.
Herrera had worked in the Lincoln Police Department for 23 years.
Herrera was the first Lincoln police officer killed in the line of duty since 1968 and the seventh in the city’s history. He left behind his wife, Carrie, and four children.